Natalia Vyacheslavovna Sumskaya is a Ukrainian actress and TV presenter.
Place of Birth, Education
She was born on April 22, 1956 in the village of Katyuzhanka in the Kyiv region in a family of actors.
Until the age of 10, she lived in Lviv.
In 1977, she graduated from the Kyiv State Institute of Theater Arts named after Karpenko-Kary, where she studied in the workshop of Anatoly Reshetnikov.
Career
Theatre
Sumska has been playing on the stage of the Franko National Theater for many years. In the 1980s and 1990s, she performed roles in the plays “Aeneid”, “Christmas Night”, “The White Crow”, “Talan”, “The Master and Margarita” and “Three Sisters”.
In the 2000s, she appeared on stage in the performances “Pygmalion”, “Othello”, “The Inspector General” and “The Kaydashev Family”. Later she appeared in the productions of “Zorba the Greek”, “The Living Corpse”, “The Forest”, “Incomparable” and “Coriolanus”.
In the 2020s, she played in the plays “Peer Gynt”, “The Visit” and “Oedipus Rex”.
In addition to the Franko Theater, she also collaborated with the Kyiv Academic Drama Theater on Podolit and the theater company “Benyuk and Khostikoev”.
Movie
Sumskaya began acting in films in the 1970s. Among her early works are “Natalka Poltavka”, “Wait for the Liaison”, “Dudaryks”, “Karmelyuk” and “State Border”.
In the 1990s and 2000s, her filmography included “Carpathian Gold”, “For the Hearth”, “Crime with Many Unknowns”, “Roksolana” and “Embroiderer at Dusk”.
She is well known to the new generation of viewers from her later works – in particular, for her roles in “Servant of the People”, “Village for a Million”, “The Watchtower”, “The Black Crow” and “Plantains”.
Duplication
Sumska also worked in dubbing at different times. In 2012, she voiced the witch in the cartoon “Brave”, and in 2018, the ambassador in the film “The Incredibles 2” spoke in her voice.
In 2023, in the cartoon “Mavka. The Forest Song” she voiced the Witch Doctor.
Orders and ranks
In 1992, Sumy received the International Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and in 2005 she was awarded the Order of Barbara the Great Martyr.
Other awards include:
- March 26, 2016 – received the Order of Merit of the III degree – for her contribution to the development of Ukrainian culture and theater, creative achievements and professional skills;
- On August 21, 2020, she was awarded the Order of Merit of the II degree for her contribution to the development of Ukraine and high professionalism.
- March 27, 2025 – received the Order of Merit of the I degree – for her contribution to the development of national culture, theatrical art and significant creative achievements.
Wins and nominations
In 1993, Sumy was nominated for the “Kyiv Pectoral” for “White Crow”. Already in 1999, she received the Kyiv Pectoral Award for her role in the play “Three Sisters”, and later received the Yorick Prize of Independent Critics of Ukraine for the same work.
In 2008, Sumska became a laureate of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine for the play “About Mice and People”.
In 2009, she received the Lesya Ukrainka Prize for “The Kaydashev Family”, and in 2011 – another “Kyiv Pectoral” for her role in the play “Zorba the Greek”.
She was also honored in other nominations:
- in 2007, she became a laureate of the All-Ukrainian Prize “Woman of the III Millennium”;
- in 2015 she received the “Kyiv Pectoral” for the supporting role in the play “The Living Corpse”;
- in 2020, she won the Golden Spinning Top National Film Award for her supporting role in the film Black Raven.
Marital Status
Sumskaya is married to People’s Artist of Ukraine Khostikoev.
The couple have two children – daughter Daria and son Vyacheslav.
