Laima Stanislavovna Vaikule is a famous Latvian singer and actress. Prefers to perform songs in pop style.
Childhood
Born famous singer Laima Vaikule (date of birth - March 31, 1954) in the territory of Latvia, in the city of Cesis. When little Laima turned three years old, the family council decided to move to Riga. The girl’s family was complete, and in addition to her, her parents raised three more children. They lived poorly in a rented one-room apartment, since their parents were simple workers. Laima was distinguished from all children by her wayward, rebellious character. She loved racing in the yard with the boys more than playing with her sisters. But mischief did not hinder her talent. She sang from a very early age: in kindergarten during quiet time, on family holidays in front of the guests.
When Laima went to school, the teacher strongly recommended sending the girl to music school and buy her an instrument. But the family of the future singer was absolutely not musical and considered this idea a failure, and the bulky piano simply would not fit in their modest home. Her parents predicted a medical future for Laima, and Laima herself supported their decision. By the way, school program It was easy for the girl.
But at the age of 12, Laima Vaikule’s life (you already know her date of birth) turned upside down. The schoolgirl was lucky enough to take part in a competition for young singers. The talent was highly praised and Laima received her first award for her performance. After that, she began to take part in many competitions and creative events.
Creativity: beginning a career
After finishing 8th grade, Laima Vaikule, as planned, entered the local medical school educational institution. But the love of music and vocal abilities did not fade into the background.
At the age of 15, the girl began to study music professionally. Her vocal teacher was talented singer and composer Leonid Zahodnik. He was on friendly terms with Raymond Pauls, who at that time led the Radio and Television Orchestra in Riga. Zahodnik really appreciated Vaikule’s talent and therefore decided to help her reach her potential. He arranged for her to audition for Pauls. The girl was accepted into the orchestra without hesitation.
Since 1979, Vaikule began performing in a popular variety show. She didn't just perform with musical numbers, but also organized dance performances, and even created the scenery herself. By the way, Vaikule worked with Raymond Pauls for 10 years, and it was he who helped her fully reveal all her talents.
Creativity: take off
In 1984, Laima Vaikule entered the GITIS faculty acting to gain professionalism. At that moment, the singer’s paths completely diverged from medicine. In 1985 in New Year's Eve Vaikule made his television debut.
Soon the singer moved to live in Jurmala, where fate brought her together with songwriter Ilya Reznik. Fascinated by Laima’s extraordinary voice, Reznik invites her to perform one of his songs. This was followed by a duet with Valery Leontyev “Vernissage”. And the hit “It’s Not Evening Yet” cemented the success. During this period, Laima Vaikule turned from just a talented girl into a popular elegant performer. The famous singer Laima Vaikule, whose personal life began to interest a large army of fans, completely devoted herself to the stage in order to achieve the desired heights. When Laima was 33 years old, she was already known throughout the Union. She was invited to all musical events, creative evenings, and concerts.
In 1989, the already well-known Laima was invited to the USA, where she worked for seven months, after which she was offered a job in Japan.
Creativity: well-deserved long-term fame
In the mid-90s there was not a single person who had not heard of the extravagant, charming and crazy talented singer Laime Vaikule. She is popular to this day due to her inimitable image. In 2014, she was one of the initiators of the creation of a competition for young talents “ New wave" In 2015, Vaikule organized its own International Festival “Laima Vaikule. Jurmala. Rendezvous." In 2016, she sang a duet with young performer Stas Piekha (“I close my eyes”).
Another step in the career of the famous singer was her 10 albums. But studying at the acting department was not in vain. Laima Vaikule has more than a dozen film roles.
Disease
At the height of her career, the young singer faced serious health problems. Doctors discovered she had breast cancer. Treatment took place in the USA. The disease forced Vaikule to stop the fast pace of his life and think, reconsider his principles. Fortunately, the disease was overcome.
Laima Vaikule: personal life
It is unknown whether the singer would have been able to build such an amazing career if she had not had such a reliable support next to her as her husband. Andrei Latkovsky is her only companion. He was next to the singer in both sorrow and joy. How old is Laima Vaikule’s husband? He is seven years older than his wife and celebrated his 70th birthday in 2017. But next to such a gorgeous woman as Laima, he has to look like her. Laima Vaikule’s husband is handsome and stately. His height is about 180 cm, he is fit and looks much younger than his age.
Perhaps such long-term harmony in relationships can be achieved due to the fact that the singer practically does not allow anyone into her family and does not like to put her personal life on public display.
They met back in 1970, when Laima was still unknown to anyone. famous girl. Future husband Laima Vaikule was a guitarist in one of the bands at that time. This was not a fleeting passion; their relationship proceeded rather slowly. After a short communication, life separated them for some time. But when in Once again They met in Leningrad, then the working relationship grew into common sympathy. Since 1978, the young couple began to live together. From that moment on, the couple was no longer separated. Over all the years they lived together, Laima and Andrey became not only spouses, but friends and partners. He was its producer at one time.
Laima’s freedom-loving character, naturally, cannot be hidden in family life, but Andrei treats the woman he loves with understanding. Even though she is not the best hostess. Laima admitted more than once in her interviews: she doesn’t fry cutlets and doesn’t cook borscht. But Laima Vaikule’s husband accepts her for who she is, and she, in turn, values this very much and is afraid of losing him. Laima does not like to say words of love out loud, arguing that loving hearts and that's how everyone feels.
Several years ago, Andrei proposed marriage to Laima. The ceremony took place in Las Vegas.
Laima Vaikule: family, children
In her youth, a girl dreamed of big family, the same as she grew up in, but these dreams were not destined to come true. Laima Vaikule's family is hers loving husband. Despite a strong union with him lasting 40 years, Vaikule has no children. For a creative, ambitious girl, pregnancy at the very beginning of her career was like a bolt from the blue, because children did not fit into the coming years at all. Therefore, Vaikule chose to have an abortion. When her career reached its peak, Andrei Latkovsky himself dissuaded Laima Vaikule from having a child. Since she always agreed with her husband and took his opinion into account, that’s why she listened to him.
Unfortunately, all subsequent attempts to give birth to a child by the couple were unsuccessful. Many years later, looking back on her bitter experience, the singer urges women not to have abortions and give birth regardless of the circumstances.
The couple gives all their unspent love to young talented performers. Organizes competitions for them and gives them a chance to find themselves.
When asked about children, Vaikule often answers that her children are her dogs. She simply adores animals and is an ardent defender of their rights. Plus, she is a vegetarian.
Beauty secrets of Laima Vaikule
Despite the fact that the famous singer is already over 60, she still remains stunningly beautiful. The secret of her beauty lies in everyday work on herself. Laima Vaikule has always been closely connected with the world of fashion, so her style has always remained unsurpassed. She follows fashion trends so that she is in no way inferior to the young.
The singer goes in for sports, carefully monitors her health, and adheres to a diet, which, by the way, she personally developed.
But the celebrity herself believes that outer beauty should always be filled from the inside first. A person without inner charisma, humanity and talent is essentially just “zilch”.
Laima Vaikule – famous singer and an actress who has also mastered production, and simply an amazing woman. Her creative path from youth to the very peak of fame is truly impressive. Many people think that the life of celebrities is cloudless and filled with nothing but happiness, but in reality this is not the case.
As stated in the title of one famous film- The rich cry too. The life of Mrs. Vaikule is also not without bitter moments. But still she managed to achieve incredible success.
From the very beginning of her career, Laima Vaikule impressed fans with her appearance, and everyone immediately became interested in her height, weight, and age. She herself does not hide how old Laima Vaikule is. This talented woman is already 63 years old. And she manages to maintain a surprisingly good figure. With a fairly tall height of 176 centimeters, the singer weighs 63 kilograms.
She really takes good care of herself. However, if you look at the photo of Laima Vaikule in her youth and now, you might think that she did plastic surgery. At least, this is what fans suspected her of when they saw her video congratulations on March 8 on Instagram.
Biography 👉 Lima Vaikule
Laima Vaikule ( real name- Vaikulis) was born on March 31, 1954, in the Latvian town of Cesis. Her father, Stanislav Vaikulis, and mother, Yanina Vaikulis, were ordinary working people. The singer also has a pair of older sisters and a brother. She herself did not plan to become a singer. The only one in their family who was at least somehow connected with creativity was their grandmother - she sang in the church choir. And Laima simply sang because she liked it.
The family moved to Riga when Laima was only three years old.
The girl’s talent for singing appeared in childhood, but Laima herself saw herself as a doctor. It is worth noting that the girl had a rather rebellious character - she preferred running around with boys to playing with girls, and at times even ran away from home.
If we talk about school years, then studying was very easy for her, however, over time, school lost its priority for the future singer. She began to devote more time to creativity.
Laima Vaikule’s biography as a singer began when the girl was only 12. She performed in a group at a young talent competition.
Without losing her dream of becoming a doctor, after graduation Laima entered the medical university. But even during her training, she did not forget to practice singing. Back when Laima was 15, she was hired to sing in the city orchestra, which, by the way, was directed by Raymond Pauls.
In 1984, Laima decided to join GITIS in the directing department. At the same time, the girl continued to sing various compositions, from foreign ones to those that were in Pauls’ repertoire. The style of singing became her peculiar " business card" You can recognize her even with your eyes closed, just by her voice.
Recently, fans began to wonder if their favorite had undergone plastic surgery. Requests like: “Lima Vaikule in her youth photo” often began to appear on the Internet. It is worth admitting that the woman has really changed.
Vaikule began to take her first steps towards fame in the 80s, when she met the songwriter Ilya Reznik. Then the young singer sang completely new songs for the first time, which quickly gained popularity. The young performer was simply bombarded with offers for radio broadcasts and filming in television programs.
But Laima really became famous after her performance at the author’s evening of Raymond Pauls. One of the most popular and truly memorable songs was “Vernissage” - a duet with Valery Leontyev.
In the early 90s, Vaikule became known abroad. Namely, in America. I even went out there documentary about the singer, which only strengthened her popularity in the States. Interesting fact: American fans even compared Vaikule to the singer Madonna. But ultimately, Laima decided to return home. At that time, the Soviet Union had already collapsed, and Latvia became an independent state.
Throughout her career she has released ten music albums, which were listened to by fans almost all over the world.
And in the famous competition “Jurmala” Vaikule not only sang herself, but was also constantly on the jury.
One of the most memorable performances was “Baltic Romance” in a duet with Boris Moiseev.
Few people know, but Vaikule even starred in thirteen films, which proves Laima’s talent not only as a singer.
Personal life 👉 Limes Vaikule
If you thought this woman had mass whirlwind romances, you are wrong. Laima Vaikule’s entire personal life consists of her first and only husband, Andrei Latkovsky, who, concurrently, produces her activities. Vaikule met him back in the 70s and, by the way, was not at all worried about the lack of a stamp in her passport.
They got married only after 30 years (!) of relationship. Moreover, without making a special holiday out of this event. And they still live, soul to soul.
Family 👉 Limes Vaikule
Laima Vaikule's family - her parents and sisters and brother - were ordinary working people. His father worked at the company, and his mother started as a salesman, but eventually rose to the rank of store director. Later, the producer and he became the woman’s family common law husband- Andrey. It is known that in the 90s Vaikule was diagnosed with cancer, but she overcame the disease thanks to the support of her lover.
The singer adores her husband, but it is interesting that she does not express her feelings for him in public, preferring simpler and more modest names for “husband” or “beloved.”
Children 👉 Limes Vaikule
The true reason for this was and remains unknown, but the children of Laima Vaikule are something that the singer and her beloved husband never had and do not have to this day. Maybe it's all about health. Or maybe the reason is that she decided to devote herself entirely to the stage and creativity.
One way or another, both Laima and her husband do not give any clear answers to questions on this topic. And in general they try to avoid this direction. Nevertheless, they have been happy together for more than forty years. And young people should definitely follow their example. The couple live happily, even despite the absence of their own children.
Husband 👉 Lima Vaikule - Andrey Latkovsky
Laima Vaikule’s husband, Andrei Latkovsky, is the only man she has ever loved. The current spouses have lived in a civil marriage for three decades. According to the performer herself, she simply did not consider the presence of a stamp in her passport to be something really important. But still, about ten years ago, she and Andrei got married.
For her, Latkovsky is not only a husband and producer, but also a faithful friend, and very close person, who really follows her through both fire and water. The couple is happy together, even despite the absence of children. Although the press suspects that the singer’s infertility is to blame, neither she nor Latkovsky himself reveal the true reasons.
Instagram and Wikipedia 👉 Limes Vaikule
The performer does not want to lag behind life and other celebrities, which is why Laima Vaikule’s Instagram and Wikipedia can easily be found on the Internet, in the public domain. For example, over 180 thousand people have subscribed to her Instagram profile. There the singer posts pictures and videos with various events and from behind the scenes. Young performers with whom the artist performs in a duet are often included in the frame. Laima is a positive and cheerful person, which is why she always smiles brightly in the photo.
And you can learn a lot about Vaikul from Wikipedia interesting facts. For example, such that Laima does not eat meat. And she is an ardent defender of animals. Also, she doesn't wear natural fur. And also the fact that Laima smokes. And although he admits that the habit is harmful, he is in no hurry to get rid of it.
Laima Stanislavovna Vaikule- famous Soviet and Latvian pop singer and actress. People's Artist of Latvia (1995), singing voice- contralto. She is known for such songs as “Vernisage”, “It’s Not Evening Yet”, “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Sherlock Holmes”.
The early years and education of Laima Vaikule
In Laima Vaikule’s family, except for her grandmother, who sang in the church choir, no one had anything to do with music.
Father - Stanislav Vaikulis- was a worker.
His mother, Yanina, worked as a saleswoman and later became the director of a large store.
Laima Vaikule has an older half-sister and a brother, and one sister.
When Laima was three years old, the family moved to Riga.
Laima Vaikule’s biography on Wikipedia states that, according to the singer’s recollections, she sang almost from the cradle: “In kindergarten, I didn’t like to sleep in the afternoon, and I sang. My parents also asked me to sing when guests came. I sang in a low voice, which was funny, unusual, so I was a Diva.”
But as a child, Vaikule did not intend to be a singer; Laima dreamed of becoming a doctor.
“I was the favorite of the family, but very willful. And she always did only what she considered necessary. Difficult child, terrible. At the age of five, I “punished” my parents: I packed my things and left home. At the same time, the older sister said to her mother: “Do you really believe her?” Where will she go!’ But I still left. Around the corner of the house. My parents went looking for me and, thank God, they quickly found me. And I was waiting for them and thinking: “Why are they looking for so long?” But I’m stubborn, if they hadn’t been found, I would have sat there until the morning!” — Laima Vaikule said in an interview.
In the first grades of school, Laima had straight A's in her subjects, but when the girl became interested in singing, the lessons were forgotten.
At the age of 12, Laima first appeared on stage. Vaikule took part in a competition for young singers, which was held at the cultural center of the Riga VEF plant. At the same time, Laima Vaikule received her diploma and began performing with the group.
Still dreaming of becoming a doctor, Laima Vaikule, after finishing the eighth grade, entered the local medical school.
Creative career Limes of Vaikule
But during her studies, at the age of 15, she became a soloist of the Riga Radio and Television Orchestra, which was directed by Raymond Pauls.
Laima Vaikule's talent was noticed Leonid Zahodnik, who, at the time, was working with Raymond Pauls. The walker sang and provided voices for all the singers from Raymond’s orchestra. Leonid took Vaikule to audition with Pauls. After listening to Laima, the maestro approached her and said, clapping her on the shoulder: “Baby, I’ll take you,” Vaikule recalled.
From that moment on, medical education and the idea of becoming a doctor were over.
Laima Vaikule began performing in the popular variety show “Juras Perle” (translated from Latvian as “Sea Pearl”). At first the singer was in a dance orchestra, but gradually became a soloist in a variety show.
Having decided to improve her education, Laima Vaikule entered GITIS. There she studied directing. In addition to Western material and a lot of modern songs, the singer, together with the Laima ensemble, performed Latvian songs. In particular, Vaikule performed the composition “Verokoko” by Raymond Pauls. Performed a song in Russian Valery Leontyev.
Vaikule’s first album “First Season. The Eighties” is dated 1986 in her biography.
Soon, Laima’s career began to achieve success on an all-Union scale. In the mid-80s of the last century, Vaikule was noticed by a songwriter Ilya Reznik. He invited her to record and present it on the radio new song called "Night Fire". With this composition, Laima appeared on the radio, as well as on the TV show “Song-86”. In the same year, Laima Vaikule and Valery Leontyev performed together famous song“Vernissage” (joint work of Pauls and Reznik) at the Soviet-Italian concert of pop stars.
In 1987, Laima took part in a creative evening with Raymond Pauls. That’s when the entire Soviet Union recognized and fell in love with the singer. True, as Laima Vaikule said, already living in independent Latvia, she does not feel nostalgia for the USSR. And ordinary, benevolent Soviet spectators were attracted to Laima by its “European charm.”
By the way, Laima Vaikule’s attitude towards her Soviet fame and colleagues in show business can be judged by these lines from her biography on the official website. “The name of Laima Vaikule flashed on the musical horizon in the mid-eighties. Unexpected and bright. Everything about the aspiring singer was amazing. She sang differently from everyone else, behaved on stage differently from everyone else, she was unlike anyone else! Laima Vaikule radically stood out from the line of “pop idols” of that time. At that time, there was simply no one in the USSR to compare her with.”
In those years, Laima Vaikule often appeared on television and gained all-Union fame.
Then Vaikule on international festival The Bratislava Lyre in Czechoslovakia received the Golden Lyre award.
While still studying at GITIS, Laima Vaikule prepared her large solo program, which premiered at the Rossiya State Central Concert Hall in 1988.
Soon American producer Stan Cornelius in 1989 he invited Laim Vaikule to the USA. There she worked on the album for 7 months and recorded in the studio Michael Sembello. In the USA, Vaikule took part in the filming of American programs and signed a contract with the famous recording company MCA/GRP. In the same year, a documentary film about Laima Vaikul, which was shot by the Videofilm studio and American filmmakers, was released on American television screens.
The Western press even called Laima the “Russian Madonna,” according to Vaikule’s biography on the Find Out Everything website.
During her career, Laima Vaikule recorded 10 music albums in Latvia and Russia, 20 million of her discs were sold out by fans from Russia, Europe and the USA. At the annual World Music Awards "93" she received a special prize from the Prince of Monaco.
Laima Vaikule also proved herself as an actress. She began acting in films in 1979.
Her first role was as a singer in a bar in the film Inspector Gull. In total, the actress’s filmography includes 13 roles in different paintings. Laima Vaikule appeared in New Year's films on Russian channels, in particular, in "Old Songs about the Main Thing." Vaikule also played Snow Queen in the New Year's musical of the same name.
Laima Vaikule was a regular guest on music competition"New wave". In addition, the singer constantly appears on television and radio, as well as on holiday concerts.
In 2011, Laima Vaikule became a holder of the Russian Order of Friendship - for her great contribution to the development and strengthening of Russian-Latvian cultural ties, the popularization of modern Russian musical culture in the Republic of Latvia.
Laima Vaikule was awarded the honorary titles “Honored Artist of the Latvian SSR” (1990) and “ National artist Republic of Latvia" (1995).
Business Laima Vaikule
Laima Vaikule’s income from concerts in Russia and corporate events is not all that the singer earns.
In 1993, Vaikule decided to go into business. Laima became the founder of the perfume and cosmetics company Laima-Lux International.
Personal life of Laima Vaikule
Laima Vaikule lived in a civil marriage with her producer and former bass player of her ensemble Andrey Latkovsky since 1978. A little later, the couple had a modest wedding in Las Vegas.
In 1991, the artist suffered a serious illness. The illness helped her come to faith. Laima Vaikule became an Orthodox Christian.
Laima Vaikule has no children. Show business news reported that Laima Vaikule sacrificed motherhood for the sake of her career, having two abortions. Then Vaikule tried many times to get pregnant, but it didn’t work out. The artist also thought about taking the child from the orphanage, but her confessor dissuaded her.
“I was always sure that I would be the best mother in the world,” said Laima, “it’s in my blood. And there were chances! Twice! But both times the pregnancy ended in abortion. I regret it so much, because I committed murders! Killing my own children... I had to choose between a child and a career, I was just starting to sing, and I had everything ahead of me... Unfortunately, I chose a career. Some time after the second abortion, I decided that it was time to have a child, but all attempts were in vain,” Vaikule was quoted as saying by the Ukrainian channel TSN.
Vaikule’s biography also states that in 2010, at the age of 56, Laima was pregnant using artificial insemination, but suffered a miscarriage.
Laima is a vegetarian for ethical reasons. Laima Vaikule is an active animal defender.
For the last 20 years, the artist has not worn fur and constantly opposes circuses with trained animals.
In the biography on the official website of Laima Vaikule, the singer is rarely satisfied with herself, often changes her home, hairstyle, and clothing style.
Scandal with Crimea
Singer Laima Vaikule honestly answered the question about the possibility of her performing on the Crimean peninsula. The singer gave a mini-interview before the concert in Odessa.
Vaikule replied that she follows political events in the world and the former CIS, so she will not conduct provocative conversations, much less discuss topics in which she is not an expert.
The journalist also asked whether Vaikule would give a concert in Crimea.
“I understand perfectly what you are asking me. In general, I am far from politics, but regarding Crimea I can say unequivocally - I will not go there, no matter what fee they offer me,” Vaikule answered.
“We are not allowed, we Europeans,” she added.
This mini-interview caused a great resonance in Russia. For example, the Free Press reported that Joseph Prigogine- a well-known Russian producer - believes that singer Laima Vaikule could have offended many of her fans with her statement about her reluctance to go to Crimea under any pretext. Therefore, in his opinion, she should no longer perform in Russia.
Prigozhin also recalled that the Laima Vaikule “Rendezvous” festival was organized instead of the “New Wave” competition, which was moved to Sochi due to the fact that some Russian stars banned from entering Latvia.
Grigory Ioffe- the head of the Public Chamber of Crimea - commented on the words of Laima Vaikule: “It is unacceptable to consider the Crimean situation through an open or closed wallet. Quality of soul creative person is not measured in pieces of silver,” emphasizing that for many years he was a connoisseur of Vaikule’s creativity.
According to him, you don’t have to perform in Crimea, but you need to understand what’s happening. And approaching the Crimean issue at the level of some kind of sales is intolerable, RIA Novosti reported.
At the same time, he emphasized that Laima Vaikule will soon be included in the “Crimean dossier” by decision of a special monitoring group.
Sergey Tsekov- Senator from the Republic of Crimea, head of the Russian community of the peninsula - made a proposal to punish the singer Laima Vaikule for her refusal to perform in Crimea.
“As for the response, I think she should be banned from performing in our country,” he said. At the same time, Sergei Tsekov is convinced that Vaikule’s words have a political connotation.
Trainer Edgard Zapashny also criticized the statement of the Latvian singer Laima Vaikule that she would not go on tour to Crimea for any money and was glad of the collapse of the USSR.
“Crimea is the territory of Russia, and have the conscience to admit it or have the courage not to visit Russia for concerts at all if your views differ from ours!!! It’s unfortunate when people like you bite the “feeding hand,” but it continues to feed you!” — the trainer wrote on his Instagram, commenting on the news about Vaikul.
According to him, if it weren’t for the Soviet Union, Vaikule would never have sung like that in Russian, which “fed and watered” the singer throughout her career. As Zapashny noted, the artist does not have a single recognizable song in her native Latvian. He also noted that Vaikule had a chance to refuse the title “Honored Artist of the Latvian SSR,” but at that time she “loved” the USSR.
Famous Soviet and Russian actor Stanislav Sadalsky also spoke about Laima Vaikule.
According to the actor, he, in turn, will not perform in Ukraine while Russians are being insulted in Square.
He also emphasized that he himself had just returned from Latvia, and there he observed a “disgusting attitude towards Russians.”
But Yuri Loza reminded of Laima Vaikule’s Latvian citizenship, as well as the fact that it is in the Baltics that she has a business and even her own festival. Therefore, there is no need for her to spoil relations with her leaders, Loza noted.
“If she were Russian, we would have the right to say something about this. But she is a resident of another country. Why condemn her? It doesn’t go and doesn’t go,” he noted.
Director of the Latvian singer Alexey Yakovlev said that everyone perceives this statement to the extent of their depravity.
“I think it's all twisted and overblown. I think this is not entirely correct,” said director Laima Vaikule.
Well, Laima Vaikule herself said that she was shocked by the reaction to her statements about Crimea. The Latvian singer believes that all her critics are zombies and animals.
“I had no idea that people were such animals. I'll be honest. Maybe because I never watch TV. I think people have gone crazy. They are absolutely zombified. They don’t even hear what they say... Journalists are provocateurs and liars, these are my impressions,” news reports quoted Laima Vaikule as saying in a conversation with Latvian journalists.
Vaikule Laima Stanislavovna (b. 1954) is a Latvian singer and actress, in 2011 she was awarded the Russian Order of Friendship of Peoples for her contribution to the strengthening and development of cultural ties between Russia and Latvia.
Childhood
On March 31, 1954, Laima Vaikule was born in the city of Cesis. Then it was still Latvian republic Soviet Union, now it is a separate country, Latvia. Laima’s family was very simple, dad Stanislav worked as a worker, and mom Yanina was a salesman in a store. Of the whole family, only my grandmother was involved in music, and she took part in church singing.
Laima also had an older half-sister and brother, and Native sister. So the Vaikule family was large and friendly. When little Laima was three years old, they moved to Riga. Here my mother was hired to work as the director of a large store.
The love of singing was passed on from her grandmother to her granddaughter Laima. The girl sang almost from the cradle. She remembers how in kindergarten she didn’t like to sleep during quiet time and hummed quietly while lying in bed. When acquaintances and friends came to visit them, the parents asked little Laima to sing songs.
Laima spent her childhood, like most Soviet children, in the yard with friends. She was not at all like her older sister Yana, who preferred playing with girls and dolls. Laima liked to run with the boys more.
She was everyone’s favorite in the family because she was the youngest, but she grew up stubborn and willful. Already at the age of five, if something was not to her liking, she would pack her things and leave home. Not far, of course, around the corner of the house, where her parents quickly found her, but this is how her character was revealed.
Studies
When the girl was in first grade, the teacher advised her parents to buy a piano, since their daughter clearly had musical talent. But Laima herself had no intention of connecting her future with the profession of a singer or artist. Musical instrument The parents never bought it, not because the girl didn’t want to study with it, but there was simply nowhere to put it in a one-room apartment.
All subjects at Laime school were easy. Until she became seriously interested in creativity, her diary contained only “excellent” grades.
As a teenager, Laima really wanted to become a surgeon. She believed that this was exactly the profession whose results were visible and truly benefited people. Her mother was very often sick, and the girl wanted to treat her herself, to help her loved one recover. Laima was interested in natural science and wanted to go to medical school, but she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to pass the big competition, and so she went to school.
She had to work in an ambulance and go to the anatomical theater. She really liked all this, but the music took its toll, singing interrupted all her dreams related to medicine. And many years later, somewhere in the depths of her soul, Laima regrets a little that she did not succeed as a doctor.
The beginning of a creative journey
When Vaikula was 12 years old, her first appearance on stage took place in her life.
At the Riga VEF plant, a competition of young singers was held in the cultural center. Laima not only took part in it, but also won a diploma. After the competition, she was invited to sing with a big band. She agreed, and creativity gradually began to pull the girl into its whirlpool.
While performing with the group, Laima also began taking music and vocal lessons from maestro Zahodnik, who worked with the singers of Raymond Pauls - he sang and gave them voices. Zahodnik had Vaikule as his favorite student, so he decided to show her to Pauls. At the age of 15, the girl passed the selection and began to solo in the Riga Radio and Television Orchestra, led by Raymond Pauls.
When Laima was 18 years old, she began performing in restaurants, and in 1979 she began performing as a soloist in the famous Jurmala variety show “Sea Pearl”. In addition to singing songs, the girl herself was also involved in choreographing dances, selecting musicians, and designing costumes. In those years, in the Baltics, the show of this variety show was considered the most colorful, and Laima Vaikule became increasingly popular among viewers.
In 1984, Vaikule went to Moscow and became a student at GITIS, choosing the directing department. By this time, she performed with the vocal-instrumental ensemble "Lima", performing pop songs in Russian and Latvian, as well as several musical compositions from the Western repertoire. The poet Ilya Reznik drew attention to the young performer and offered her cooperation - recording the song “Night Fire”. The composition was then often played on the radio, and it also entered the final of “Song-86”.
Fame and success
At the end of 1986, Laima recorded the composition “Vernissage”, which she sang in a duet with Valery Leontyev. The song quickly gained popularity among listeners and Laima became famous in an instant.
The following year, the singer’s success was consolidated with the song “It’s not evening yet” and participation in the creative evening of composer Raimonds Pauls, which took place in the state concert hall"Russia". In the spring she went to Czechoslovakia for international competition“Bratislava Lyre”, where she received the “Golden Lyre” prize with the composition “Vernissage”.
Laima is an incredible worker and experimenter. Thanks to these qualities, her path to the top of fame turned out to be short and quick, while others take years. Already in 1988, the State Central Concert Hall “Russia” held its big solo concert. The singer is very versatile; her repertoire includes both humorous and lyrical songs, but all of them certainly became hits in their time:
- "Sherlock Holmes";
- "Street of Love";
- "Go ahead and play";
- "Tango of the Summer Garden";
- "You and me";
- "Charlie, funny eccentric";
- “A smart person won’t get ahead”;
- "Chestnut branch";
- "Fiddler on the Roof";
- "I went out into Piccadilly";
- “I am praying for you”;
- "Acapulco".
Laima Vaikule is constantly invited to the jury for the international song competition “New Wave”, as well as for the KVN competition “Musical Kivin”.
The singer toured Europe a lot and worked in Japan and the USA for a long time.
Personal life
In 1970, Laima Vaikule and Andrei Latkovsky met at one of the discos. The young man was a bass guitarist, born and raised in an intelligent family, and recently served in the army. His father taught political economy at the university in Riga, and his mother worked as an expert at the Latvian Chamber of Commerce. Later, Laima and Andrey crossed paths several times while working in the same musical group. There was no relationship between them other than work, but Andrei immediately liked Lyme even at the first meeting.
Fate brought them together again in Leningrad in 1978. According to Andrey, from the moment they met, Laima became even more beautiful and brighter. He began to court her, she reciprocated, and so they went through life together.
Terrible disease
In 1991, doctors diagnosed Lyma with breast cancer. She was asked to undergo surgery, but the doctors did not hide that the chances of defeating the disease were only 20%. The husband immediately assured Lyma that, despite the outcome of the operation, the duration and severity of the illness, he would never leave her, he would be by her side every minute.
After the doctors’ verdict, Lyma at some point became embittered at the whole world of healthy people, at those who are constantly dissatisfied with life, always complaining about small everyday trifles and troubles, thinking that these are huge problems.
Then the anger gave way to shock from the diagnosis and severe depression. Later, incredible fear appeared. For the first time she felt how scary it was to die and how much she didn’t want it. At first, Lyma refused the operation because she did not believe in its positive outcome. She wrote to all her beloved loved ones farewell letters.
But then faith in God came, the woman began to read the Bible, this saved her.
The operation was difficult, but ended successfully. Opening her eyes after anesthesia, Laima saw her husband and was overcome by unbridled joy, she realized that she was alive and not all was lost. But then a long and painful period of treatment lay ahead. This is again pain, nerves, depression, the disgusting realization that you are not like everyone else, that you are a cripple.
But she really wanted to live, and next to her was her beloved husband, close people and faith in God. Lyme managed to defeat the terrible disease.
Long before her illness, she came across the words of sages who said that a person’s personality grows and develops in suffering. She did not understand the meaning of these words then. And only after suffering an illness did the whole essence of the phrase reach her. Laima turned to religion and saw life from a completely different perspective.
Then there were still difficult morally 10 years of observation by an oncologist. Every time she went to an appointment, she was overcome with panic that everything could happen again. Now she remembers it as horrible dream. The disease has changed her a lot inner world, Laima learned to appreciate every second spent with her family.
When asked what happiness is, Vaikule answers:
“For me, happiness is remembering my childhood, when mom and dad dress me up beautifully, and we go somewhere to visit. I am happy that I overcame a terrible disease. I am lucky to have my most beloved and devoted husband, Andrei, next to me. And I also want to make all people happy - to give them joy, to sing and dance for them, to help someone. Good things don't have to end".
Laima outside of music
After the collapse of the USSR, Vaikule, in addition to creativity, decided to go into business and opened the Laima-Lux hairdressing salon, which is located in Riga. The singer herself has been recognized more than once as a style icon. Despite the fact that she is already over 60, Laima cannot imagine her life without running and yoga, which is why she is in wonderful physical fitness.
She is a vegetarian and loves animals, especially dogs.
Laima has three American bulldogs - a girl, Feria, and a boy, Gingera (Latvian champion). When the dogs gave birth to 15 charming puppies, Lima kept one little girl, Laura, and sold the rest. The price for puppies was high because Vaikule believes that if a person can pay a lot of money for a dog, it means he will take good care of it.
Here's how the guys from the team talk about it:
“If we come on tour to another city, then the route that Laima takes for a walk can be easily determined. There are stray dogs eating everywhere on the corners.".
On the entire post-Soviet stage there is no more ardent defender of animals than Laima Vaikule.
Laima accepted the Orthodox faith, despite the fact that all her relatives and friends are Catholics.
The biography of Laima Vaikule is incredibly interesting. It is filled with many bright events - both joyful and those that caused strong experiences.
The singer made a huge contribution to the development of the Soviet stage. She is the favorite of millions of listeners. Laima Vaikule has earned enormous popularity and recognition from the public thanks to her amazing voice and unique compositions.
Laima Vaikule was born in the spring of 1954 in Latvia. The future artist grew up in ordinary family worker and saleswoman. Her parents had absolutely nothing to do with creativity. The love for music arose in the girl’s heart back in early age. Beautiful voice And musical abilities the future star inherited it from her beloved grandmother, who sang in the choir at the church. Laima was not the only child in the family; she has two sisters and a brother.
As a child, Vaikule dreamed of becoming a doctor and before graduating from school she was sure that she would choose medicine as her life’s work. Future star I studied the stage very well. The teachers were always pleased with her, and the parents were proud of their daughter’s good academic performance. One day, one of the teachers recommended that the girl’s mom and dad pay attention to her musical abilities and be sure to buy her a piano.
As a child, Vaikule was a mischievous and restless child. She was not interested in such games as “mothers and daughters”, “school”, etc. She liked war games and cars more. She loved to play with the boys and run around the yard with them.
Despite the fact that Laima made great progress in her studies, she was still a naughty, rather principled child and loved to do everything the way she wanted. When the girl was five years old, she once took offense at her parents, packed her things and left home. In this way she wanted to “punish” them.
WITH early years the singer kept a diary. There she wrote down her thoughts, important events. At school, the artist loved all subjects, but after she became interested in music, the exact sciences ceased to occupy an important place in her life.
Career
Vaikule first appeared on stage as a schoolgirl when she took part in a festival of young singers. Then she received a certificate and was invited to sing in the ensemble.
One day, in 1979, Pauls turned to the singer and invited her to perform in the famous variety show “Juras Perle”, which translated from Latvian means “Sea Pearl”. At first, the artist was a member of a dance ensemble, and then became a soloist in a variety show.
In 1984, the young performer decided to become a professional and entered GITIS, the directing department. The singer has her own Music band, called “Lyma”, she was a soloist in it. Mostly Laima performed songs by Raymond Pauls.
Vaikule gained popularity and recognition in the 80s. During this period, the singer’s collaboration with the poet Ilya Reznik began. Soon such wonderful and beloved songs appeared on the air as:
- "Vernisage".
- "Night fire."
- "Not yet evening".
In 1991, the singer became seriously ill. For a long time she received treatment and believed in the best. The artist recovered and returned to her favorite thing - music. Laima Vaikule is the winner of many awards. Her work is admired by people of different generations.
Personal life and interesting facts
Now the singer is happily married, she continues to be creative, take part in various projects and constantly delights her fans with new performances. Laima looks great, constantly monitors her appearance, and few people can give her her true age.
- Laima is one of the founders of the Jurmala festival of young performers.
- The singer is an active animal rights activist and has become a vegetarian for ethical reasons.
- Laima starred in the first anti-hunting film along with many famous stars.
- Doesn't wear Vaikule natural furs and leather goods.
- She is a member of the jury of the world-famous anti-fur competition “Design Against Fur”.