Biography

Oksana Victorivna Zhdanova (Ukrainian: Оксана Вікторівна Жданова; born February 3, 1993) is a Ukrainian theater, film and television actress. Oksana Victorivna Zhdanova was born on February 3, 1993 in Kherson. Her mother, Olena Khokhlatkina is named People's Artist of Ukraine. Her father, Viktor Zhdanov, is a Merited Artist of Ukraine. Both of her parents act in theater. She has a brother. She had her first acting role at age two as an extra at the Kherson Regional Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater, where both of her parents worked at the time. She wanted to become a ballerina at first. However, she got rejected after applying for a ballet school due to her height and figure. In 2010, she moved to Kyiv to study at the Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University. She graduated in 2015. She earned her first television acting role in the series Dvornyazhka Lyalya (Ukrainian: Дворняжка Ляля). She said that the role was very competitive, having a long casting call. She was doubtful about earning the role, having only acted in student films and theater at that point. She said that at the last minute, she had a sudden phone call announcing that she earned the role. She has been part of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater since 2020.She speaks Russian, Ukrainian and English.