Jeanna Friske

Zhanna Friske
Friske in 2011.
Native name	Жанна Фриске
Born	Jeanna Vladimirovna Kopylova (1974-07-08)8 July 1974 Moscow, Russia
Died	Balashikha, Russia
Occupation	Singer, model, actress, socialite
Years active	1996–2003 (group) 2004–2013 (solo)
Children	1
Website	Official Zhanna Friske web site
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Jeanna Vladimirovna Friske (Russian: Жанна Владимировна Фриске; 8 July 1974 – 15 June 2015), better known by the stage name Zhanna Friske, was a Russian actress, singer, model, and socialite. She was a member of the girl group Blestyaschie.

Family

Her father Vladimir Kopylov (later - Friske) is of German descent; his mother Paulina Friske was born to a Black Sea German family in the Odessa Oblast (part of Ukraine) then in the Soviet Union. Jeanna's mother is part Ural Cossack ancestry. Her family lives in Moscow.

Jeanna graduated in 1991 from secondary school No. 406, Perovo District, Moscow. She was fond of ballet and rhythmic gymnastics since her childhood. She studied journalism at Moscow University, but abandoned it.

Friske's common-law husband is Russian singer and television personality Dmitry Shepelev. They announced via Friske's official Web site on April 7, 2014 that Friske had given birth in Miami, Florida to a boy which the couple named Platon (Платон).

Career

She first became famous when she joined the all-girl pop singing group Blestyashchie in 1996, and left in 2003 to embarked on a solo career as a singer, actress, and occasional model, and keeps enjoying strong media interest.

Internationally Friske is known for her roles in the films Night Watch and Day Watch as Alisa Donnikova. Although the 20-minute love scene involving Friske was edited from Day Watch by the director, Timur Bekmambetov, the last installment of the trilogy, Final Watch.

Her most successful single is "Я была / Ya byla / I Was", which reached the top of the Russian charts; her album was also a major success reaching the top of all Russian-speaking countries.

In 1996 she started her creative career by joining the singing group Blestyashchiye. Her younger sister Natalia participated in Blestyashchiye for some time as well [2]. Here Jeanna was quite popular both in Russia and abroad. Blestyashchiye members along with Jeanna have recorded 4 solo discs and issued 3 solo programs for its fans.

In 2003 she took part in the reality show The last hero-4 up to its final moment. Immediately after her returning from that island shooting she announced her withdrawal from Blestyashchiye to begin a solo career. In 2005 Janna participated again in the reality show The last hero-5. Afterwards she took part in such projects as The heart of Africa, The Empire, The circus starring, The Circus. In 2008 she skated with Vitaly Novikov and Maxim Marinin in the Ice Age 2 project.

On 4 October 2005 her first solo album was released under the name of Jeanna. Its sound producers were such persons as Andrey Grozny, composer and producer, and Sergey Kharuta. Some of the songs have been released as music videos: «Лечу в темноту» (Lechu v temnotu, "I am flying into the darkness"), «La–la-la», «Где-то летом» (Gde-to letom, "Somewhere in summer").

She acted in the film Night Watch (2004) as Alice Donnikova, the witch and mistress of Zavulon, the principal character. Although most of her scenes were cut, she had a more prominent role in the sequel Day Watch, and appeared on its posters. She performed many stunts.

Jeanna played herself in the film What about the men are speaking of (2010), a performance of the popular play Conversations of the middle-aged men by the Kvartet-I.

Jeanna also played a major part in the detective story Who am I? to be released in Fall 2010. Jeanna Friske has been photographed for various glamour magazines such as Penthouse, Maxim and Elle. She appears frequently in society columns though she guards her privacy from journalists. Jeanna presents a lot of advertising campaigns for such corporations as Orient Watch, "Rexona".

Illness

On January 20, 2014, Friske's husband Dmitry Shepelev announced via Friske's website that Friske had been diagnosed with cancer. Other sites reported that Friske has been diagnosed with a stage IV glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor. She was diagnosed with cancer two months prior to her childbirth. She was suggested to start chemotherapy during her pregnancy but she refused in order to save her baby. In April 2013 she had a baby boy named Platon.

Her cancer got worse, and on June 15, 2015, she died at the age of 40.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Night Watch	Alice Donnikova
2006	Day Watch	Alice Donnikova
2010	What Men Talk About	Herself
2010	Novogodnie svaty	Herself
2010	Who am I?	Anya

Discography

Albums

• Zhanna (2005)

Singles

• Ла-ла-ла/La-La-La (2004)
• Где-то летом/Gde To Letom (Somewhere in Summer)(2005)
• Мама Мария/Mama Maria (2006)
• Malinki (feat. Diskoteka Avariya) (2006)
• Я была/Ya bila (I Was) (2007)
• Жанна Фриске/Jeanna Friske (2008)
• American (2009)
• Портофино/Portofino (2009)
• Vestern (with Tanya Tereshina) (2009)
• Пилот/Pilot (2011)
• Ты рядом/Ty ryadom (feat. Geegun) (2011)
• Навсегда/Forever (2012)

External links

• Jeanna Friske at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Website of Jeanna Friske
• Russian Actors Website
• Jeanna Friske at the Forbes
• Jeanna Friske discography at Discogs