How Nonna Grishayeva Saved Her Marriage to a Younger Man
Grishayeva celebrates her 55th birthday, yet her energy would be the envy of much younger performers.
Nonna Grishayeva celebrates her 55th birthday in excellent shape. The secret to her youthful appearance is proper nutrition, yoga, and dance, as well as cosmetic procedures: massages, drainage, and mesotherapy. The actress is not yet considering plastic surgery. She jokes that she has no right to look bad, since her husband Alexander Nesterov is 12 years younger. But before meeting him, she endured many disappointments.
Childhood and First Steps on Stage
Grishayeva with her husband Alexander Nesterov raise their son Ilya, born in 2006.
Grishayeva«s family tree includes opera singers who toured the world, while her parents—a teacher mother and a sailor father who brought home rare chewing gum from voyages—were more ordinary. Her talent emerged early: at age four, she imitated pop stars, and at five, she accidentally ended up in a movie.
«I was walking with my mom, heard music, and started dancing to it. An assistant director saw me, asked my mom for permission to put me in the shot. And so I became an actress, though I didn»t really understand it then. At six or seven, I gave whole solo concerts for friends and relatives, even writing programs,« the actress recalled.
Her parents enrolled her in a choir studio and a drama club, and at age 10 she performed the lead role at the Odessa Theatre of Musical Comedy. Teachers persuaded her mother that her daughter should go to Moscow. She was accepted at the Shchukin Institute, but her mother got scared and took back the documents. For a whole year, Grishayeva studied at the Odessa Music College, until a teacher directly asked Margarita Evgenyevna why her talented daughter was still not in the capital. That convinced her mother to let her go.
Moscow Life and Early Struggles
In the 1990s, life in a foreign city was tough.
«In the 90s, food was hard to come by. Ration cards. We lived on pasta and porridge. We made pancakes because they needed almost nothing but flour and water. And my mom sent packages from Odessa. My stipend was 30 rubles—not enough to splurge—but at least my mom could buy food,» Nonna recalled.
At college, she saw herself as a tragic heroine, but over time she discovered a comedic gift. After the Shchukin Institute, she was invited to the Vakhtangov Theatre. In parallel, she acted in films: she played Natasha in the action film «First Strike» (16+) with Jackie Chan while five months pregnant, and a lab assistant in «Moscow Holidays» (12+). However, real success came only ten years later—with the role of Denise in the play «Mademoiselle Nitouche,» for which she won several awards. For this role, she turned down the lead in the sitcom «My Fair Nanny» (16+), though she later appeared in an episode.
Her popularity soared with the «Quartet I» films—«Election Day» (12+) and «Radio Day» (18+)—where her character was dubbed «beauty Nonna.» Her friendship with the group lasted for years, so they invited old acquaintances to act. Viewers loved Grishayeva in sitcoms like «Lyuba, Children, and the Factory» (12+), «Who»s the Boss?« (12+), and »Daddy«s Daughters» (12+). She also shone in shows like «Big Difference» (16+), «Two Stars» (12+), «Repeat!» (12+), hosted «One on One!» (12+) and her own program «Nonna, Go!» (12+).
Theatre Leadership and Teaching
In 2014, the actress took over the Moscow Regional Youth Theatre, which was then 87 years old.
«It is 87 years old, and it»s the only theatre that was not evacuated from Moscow during the Great Patriotic War; it kept working and even premiered new shows. Also, it was at the Moscow Regional Youth Theatre, under the leadership of Evgenia Fridman, that musical performances and a live orchestra on stage first appeared in our country. It is precisely this direction—the concept of colorful musical performances—that we now strive to revive and develop. So with my arrival, in a certain sense, the theatre returned to its roots,« Grishayeva explained.
Five years later, she also became the artistic director of an acting course at GITIS. At the same time, she continued to act and appear on TV shows: she won the fifth season of «Three Chords» (16+) and appeared on «The Mask» (16+). The question arose: how did her family feel about her total busyness?
First Marriage and Disappointment
Before finishing her studies, Nonna met Anton Derov, a student at the Gnessin Institute. Youthful love grew into marriage, and at age 25, her daughter Nastya was born. The actress worked a lot, the child lived with her grandmother, and her husband, in her words, did not help.
«I tried to see my child every day, but I was still focused on my career—now I realize I shouldn»t have been. Anton«s fatherly instinct was buried somewhere deep... Nastya doesn»t consider herself unhappy; I spent all vacations with her. Well, there was no father, but there was a grandfather—not biological, but my stepfather. My biological father died when I was giving birth to Nastya,« the actress shared on the show »Fate of a Person« (16+).
The marriage fell apart, and a disillusioned Grishayeva decided never to marry again. There were rumors she dated a wealthy businessman, but he cheated on her with a close friend.
Second Marriage: Friendship Turned to Love
Once, the actress brought her daughter to a children«s play, where Alexander Nesterov played the bear. The introduction seemed ordinary—she expected only friendship: the man was 12 years younger, and Nonna no longer believed in personal happiness. Feelings arose during a trip to Thailand.
«There was probably some romance: vacation, mud baths. But actually, a ticket went unused, so I invited Nonna. Everything just happened by itself,» Nesterov recalled.
Alexander proposed after asking permission from Grishayeva«s daughter—Nastya immediately became friends with him. The wedding was held in Prague: ten years earlier, the actress had filmed the series »The Countess de Monsoreau« (16+) and hadn»t had time to see the city, promising to return. In 2006, the couple had a son, Ilya. Later, they also united creatively: when Nesterov became disillusioned with himself as an actor, he turned to directing, produced his wife«s solo album and music video, and then staged plays at the Rostov Theatre, where Grishayeva is artistic director.
«When I had to leave the Vakhtangov Theatre, I didn»t understand why. Only a year later did I realize what it was for. Because later I was offered to head the Rostov Theatre. And if I hadn«t left then, I wouldn»t have everything I have now,« the artist noted.
Rumors of Infidelity
The couple seemed harmonious, and the age difference blurred over time.
«Probably Nonna»s infantilism and my early maturity helped smooth the difference,« Alexander joked. However, in 2016, a video appeared online showing Nonna cooing in a hotel lobby with her co-star from the play »Warsaw Melody,« Dmitry Isaev. In the production, their characters love each other but cannot be together—viewers suspected the fiction had spilled into reality.
An administrator at the karaoke club «Barabas» in Novosibirsk told StarHit:
«Nonna and Dmitry came in for dinner after a show in December. They sat at a far table, whispered, hugged. They ordered our signature dish—dorado in bacon and shrimp. Then Isaev tried for a long time to persuade Grishayeva to sing, but she, apparently, was shy, or maybe just tired—she never took the stage. Next to him, she positively glowed—you could see how much she enjoyed that attention.»
Colleagues at the Youth Theatre also gossiped about an affair, but it didn«t affect the actress»s marriage. Nesterov«s friend Dmitry said:
«We talked to Sasha; he says everything is fine between them, there»s no talk of divorce. Of course, they had a serious conversation about that video. They explained themselves and decided not to return to the topic. Alexander loves his wife; even if something did happen between her and Isaev, he apparently forgave her. Sasha and Nonna are a wonderful couple.«
The Secret to a Strong Marriage
Even the lockdown, which destroyed many families, did not separate the couple.
«We»ve never been so focused on each other. All our quarrels are about everyday things. The secret is very simple—sometimes it«s better to stay silent. Nonna stays silent more, but her silence is worse than shouting,» Nesterov shared on the show «We Have Everything at Home» (0+) on Channel One.
Today, the actress manages everything: leading a theatre, teaching, performing on stage, and raising children. Nastya became a graphic illustrator, and Ilya has already appeared in the series «Helium-3.» Grishayeva herself admits: to stay happy, one must know when to stay silent and when to forgive.
