The Most Famous

ACTORS from Ukraine

This page contains a list of the greatest Ukrainian Actors. The pantheon dataset contains 13,578 Actors, 39 of which were born in Ukraine. This makes Ukraine the birth place of the 25th most number of Actors behind Denmark, and New Zealand.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Ukrainian Actors of all time. This list of famous Ukrainian Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Ukrainian Actors.

1. Lee Strasberg (1901 - 1982)

With an HPI of 63.24, Lee Strasberg is the most famous Ukrainian Actor. His biography has been translated into 45 different languages on wikipedia.

Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as "America's first true theatrical collective". In 1951, he became director of the nonprofit Actors Studio in New York City, considered "the nation's most prestigious acting school," and, in 1966, he was involved in the creation of Actors Studio West in Los Angeles. Although other highly regarded teachers also developed versions of "The Method," Lee Strasberg is considered to be the "father of method acting in America," according to author Mel Gussow. From the 1920s until his death in 1982, "he revolutionized the art of acting by having a profound influence on performance in American theater and film." From his base in New York, Strasberg trained several generations of theatre and film notables, including Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Fonda, Julie Harris, Paul Newman, Ellen Burstyn, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Sally Field, Renee Taylor, Geraldine Page, Eli Wallach, and directors Andreas Voutsinas, Frank Perry, Elia Kazan and Michael Cimino. By 1970, Strasberg had become less involved with the Actors Studio and, with his third wife, Anna Strasberg, opened the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute with branches in New York City and in Hollywood, to continue teaching the 'system' of Konstantin Stanislavski, which he had interpreted and developed, particularly in light of the ideas of Yevgeny Vakhtangov, for contemporary actors. As an actor, Strasberg is best known for his portrayal of the primary antagonist, the gangster Hyman Roth, alongside his former student Al Pacino in The Godfather Part II (1974), a role he took at Pacino's suggestion after Kazan turned down the role, and which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also appeared in Going in Style (1979) and ...And Justice for All (1979).

2. Milla Jovovich (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 62.45, Milla Jovovich is the 2nd most famous Ukrainian Actor. Her biography has been translated into 84 different languages.

Milica Bogdanovna Jovović ( YOH-və-vitch; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovovich (MEE-lə), is an American actress and former fashion model. Her starring roles in numerous science-fiction and action films led the music channel VH1 to deem her the "reigning queen of kick-butt" in 2006. In 2004, Forbes determined that she was the highest-paid model in the world. Born in Kiev and raised in Los Angeles, Jovovich began modeling when Herb Ritts photographed her for the cover of the Italian magazine Lei in 1987. Richard Avedon featured her in Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements. In 1988, she made her screen debut in the television film The Night Train to Kathmandu and appeared in her first feature film, Two Moon Junction. Jovovich gained attention for her role in the 1991 romance film Return to the Blue Lagoon. She was considered to have a breakthrough with her role in the 1997 French science-fiction action film The Fifth Element, written and directed by Luc Besson. Jovovich and Besson married that year but soon divorced. She starred as Joan of Arc in Besson's The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). From 2002 to 2016, she portrayed Alice in the action horror film franchise Resident Evil, which became the highest-grossing film series to be based on video games. Jovovich released her debut album, The Divine Comedy, in 1994, and a follow-up, The People Tree Sessions, in 1998. She continues to release demos for other songs on her official website and frequently contributes to film soundtracks. In 2003, she co-created the clothing line Jovovich–Hawk—which ran until 2008—with model Carmen Hawk.

3. Ida Rubinstein (1883 - 1960)

With an HPI of 60.52, Ida Rubinstein is the 3rd most famous Ukrainian Actor. Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Ida Lvovna Rubinstein (Russian: И́да Льво́вна Рубинште́йн; 3 October [O.S. 21 September] 1883 – 20 September 1960) was a Russian dancer, actress, art patron and Belle Époque figure. She performed with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes from 1909 to 1911 and later formed her own company. Boléro by Ravel (1928) was among her commissions.

4. Paul Muni (1895 - 1967)

With an HPI of 58.92, Paul Muni is the 4th most famous Ukrainian Actor. His biography has been translated into 54 different languages.

Paul Muni (born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund; September 22, 1895 – August 25, 1967) was an American stage and film actor from Chicago. He started his acting career in the Yiddish theater and during the 1930s, he was considered one of the most prestigious actors at the Warner Bros. studio and was given the rare privilege of choosing his own parts. Muni often played powerful characters, such as the lead role in Scarface (1932), and was known for his intense preparation for his parts, often immersing himself in the study of the real characters' traits and mannerisms. He was also highly skilled in makeup techniques, a talent that he had learned from his parents, who were also actors, and from his early years on stage with the Yiddish theater in Chicago. At the age of 12, he played the stage role of an 80-year-old man, and in the film Seven Faces, he played seven characters. Muni appeared in 22 films and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor five times, winning the award for his role in the 1936 film The Story of Louis Pasteur. He also starred in numerous Broadway plays and won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in the 1955 production of Inherit the Wind.

5. Lyudmila Gurchenko (1935 - 2011)

With an HPI of 57.54, Lyudmila Gurchenko is the 5th most famous Ukrainian Actor. Her biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Lyudmila Markovna Gurchenko (12 November 1935 – 30 March 2011, née Gurchenkova) was a Soviet and Russian actress, singer and entertainer. She was given the honorary title People's Artist of the USSR in 1983.

6. Zbigniew Cybulski (1927 - 1967)

With an HPI of 56.99, Zbigniew Cybulski is the 6th most famous Ukrainian Actor. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Zbigniew Hubert Cybulski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈzbiɡɲɛf t͡sɨˈbulskʲi]; 3 November 1927 – 8 January 1967 in Wroclaw) was a Polish film and theatre actor, one of the best-known and most popular personalities of the post-World War II history of Poland. He is known for portraying young rebels in such films as Night Train and Innocent Sorcerers. His role in Andrzej Wajda's 1958 drama film Ashes and Diamonds is widely considered to be his greatest artistic achievement. His iconic image symbolizing youthful rebellion and his tragic death have drawn comparisons to American actor James Dean.

7. Ida Kamińska (1899 - 1980)

With an HPI of 56.95, Ida Kamińska is the 7th most famous Ukrainian Actor. Her biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Ida Kamińska (September 18, 1899 – May 21, 1980) was a Polish actress and director. Known mainly for her work in the theatre, she was the daughter of Avrom Yitshok Kaminski (Abraham Isaac Kaminski) and Ester Rachel Kamińska (née Halpern), known as the Mother of the Jewish Stage. The Jewish Theatre in Warsaw, Poland is named in their honor. In her long career Kamińska produced more than 70 plays, and performed in more than 150 productions. She also wrote two plays of her own and translated many works in Yiddish. World War II disrupted her career, and she later immigrated to the United States where she continued to act. In 1967, she directed herself in the lead role of Mother Courage and Her Children on Broadway. In 1973, she released her autobiography, titled My Life, My Theater. She starred in the 1965 film The Shop on Main Street, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. For her performance, she received special mention at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as nominations for the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress.

8. Mila Kunis (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 55.30, Mila Kunis is the 8th most famous Ukrainian Actor. Her biography has been translated into 105 different languages.

Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, and raised in Los Angeles, she began playing Jackie Burkhart on the Fox television series That '70s Show (1998–2006) at age 15. She has voiced Meg Griffin on the Fox animated series Family Guy since 1999. Kunis's breakout film role was in the 2008 romantic comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She gained critical acclaim for her performance in the psychological thriller Black Swan (2010), receiving nominations for the SAG Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other major films include the action films Max Payne (2008) and The Book of Eli (2010), the romantic comedy Friends with Benefits (2011), the fantasy film Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)—as the Wicked Witch of the West—and the comedies Ted (2012), Bad Moms (2016) and its sequel, A Bad Moms Christmas (2017).

9. Elisabeth Bergner (1897 - 1986)

With an HPI of 55.25, Elisabeth Bergner is the 9th most famous Ukrainian Actor. Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Elisabeth Bergner (22 August 1897 – 12 May 1986) was an Austrian-British actress. Primarily a stage actress, her career flourished in Berlin and Paris before she moved to London to work in films. Her signature role was Gemma Jones in Escape Me Never, a play written for her by Margaret Kennedy. She played Gemma, first in London and then in the Broadway debut, and in a film version for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1943, Bergner returned to Broadway in the play The Two Mrs. Carrolls, for which she won the Distinguished Performance Medal from the Drama League.

10. Bohdan Stupka (1941 - 2012)

With an HPI of 54.68, Bohdan Stupka is the 10th most famous Ukrainian Actor. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Bohdan Sylvestrovych Stupka (Ukrainian: Богдан Сильвестрович Ступка; 27 August 1941 – 22 July 2012) was a popular Ukrainian actor and minister of culture of Ukraine. He was born in Kulykiv, General Government to Ukrainian parents. In 2001, he was a member of the jury at the 23rd Moscow International Film Festival. At the 26th Moscow International Film Festival he won the award for Best Actor for his role in Our Own. Stupka played in more than a hundred roles in films and over fifty in theaters. Stupka was awarded the titles Artist of Ukraine, People's Artist of the USSR, and Hero of Ukraine. Bohdan Stupka was buried in Baikove Cemetery in Kyiv. His son Ostap Stupka is also an actor.

People

Pantheon has 54 people classified as Ukrainian actors born between 1883 and 1997. Of these 54, 17 (31.48%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Ukrainian actors include Milla Jovovich, Mila Kunis, and Olga Kurylenko. The most famous deceased Ukrainian actors include Lee Strasberg, Ida Rubinstein, and Paul Muni. As of April 2024, 13 new Ukrainian actors have been added to Pantheon including Klara Luchko, Diana Karenne, and Olena Chekan.