Ivan Urgant facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ivan Urgant
Иван Ургант
Urgant in 2025
Born	(1978-04-16) 16 April 1978 (age 47) Leningrad, USSR
Other names	Vnuk Grisha Urgant
Citizenship	Russia, Israel
Alma mater	Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy
Occupation	Television host, actor
Years active	1999-present
Television	Evening Urgant
Spouse(s)	Karina Avdeeva ​ (divorced)​ Natalia Kiknadze ​ (m. 2007)​

Ivan Urgant (born April 16, 1978) is a famous Russian TV host and actor. He is well-known for playing Boris in the Yolki movie series and Danila in Lucky Trouble. From 2012 to 2022, he hosted a popular TV show called Evening Urgant. This show stopped airing in February 2022. Surveys in 2008 and 2011 showed that Ivan Urgant was Russia's most popular TV presenter. He also helps lead the Friends Charitable Foundation.

Biography

Early Life

Ivan Urgant was born in Leningrad, which was then part of the USSR. His parents, Andrei Urgant and Valeriya Kiseleva, were both actors. His grandparents, Nina Urgant and Lev Milinder, were also actors. Ivan's last name, Urgant, comes from his great-grandfather, Hindrik Urgand, who was from Estonia. Ivan has a mix of Russian, Estonian, and Jewish family roots. About a year after he was born, his parents separated. Ivan then lived with his mother and his stepfather, Dmitri Ladygin, who was also an actor.

Ivan went to music school in Leningrad. He also studied at a gymnasium connected to the State Russian Museum. Later, he graduated from the Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy. Even though he studied acting, Ivan did not start his career in theater. Instead, he worked as a waiter and a bartender. After that, he became a host for night shows in clubs. In 2018, it was reported that he also became a citizen of Israel.

Career Highlights

Urgant hosting Smak in 2008

Urgant hosting Evening Urgant in 2012

Urgant hosting the Scarlet Sails event in Saint Petersburg in 2018

In 1999, Ivan Urgant started working at a radio station in St. Petersburg. He also began appearing on TV as the host of Petersburg Courier on 5TV. Later, he moved to Moscow and continued his radio career. He worked at Russian Radio and then at "Hit-FM."

In May 2001, Ivan Urgant made his first appearance on Moscow television. He joined MTV Russia after being invited to an audition. He became a co-host for the show Cheerful Morning. After 2002, he started hosting other MTV Russia shows like Total Show and Expresso.

From 2003 to 2005, he worked on several TV projects for Russia-1. He hosted shows such as People's Artist and Pyramid. Since 2005, he has been working for Channel One. On this channel, Urgant hosted popular programs like Smak, Evening Urgant, and Prozhektorperiskhilton. He also often hosts award ceremonies.

Starting in 2006, Ivan Urgant began a series of travel documentary shows with Vladimir Pozner. These shows are called Travels of Pozner and Urgant.

Ivan Urgant has won the TEFI award many times. He received this award in 2007, 2009, 2010 (twice), 2011, 2014, 2015, and 2016.

On May 16, 2009, he co-hosted the final of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest with Alsou. In December 2017, Urgant was one of the hosts for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Team Draw Show. He hosted it alongside Gary Lineker and Maria Komandnaya.

On February 24, 2022, Ivan Urgant posted "No to War" on his Instagram account. This was after Russia's actions in Ukraine. After this, his late-night TV program was taken off-air.

In 2024, Urgant played the main character in the drama film You Cried in Your Sleep. This movie was produced by Aleksandr Sokurov.

Other Ventures

Since 2011, Ivan Urgant has been a co-owner of a restaurant in Moscow called The Sad (Garden). He owns it with Aleksandr Tsekalo. Since 2016, he has also been a board member and co-owner of a real estate company called W1Evans.

Filmography

Actor

• Streets of Broken Lights, 1999, as Nikolay "Mammoth" Kolesnikov
• Yolki, 2010, as Boris Vorobyov
• Lucky Trouble, 2011, as Danya
• Vysotsky. Thank You For Being Alive, 2011, as Seva Kulagin
• Yolki 2, 2011, as Boris Vorobyov
• Yolki 3, 2013, as Boris Vorobyov
• Yolki 1914, 2014, as Boris Yefimovich
• Yolki 5, 2016, as Boris Vorobyov
• Ice, 2018, cameo
• Yolki 6, 2017, as Boris Vorobyov
• Yolki 7, 2018, as Boris Vorobyov
• Yolki 8, 2018, as Boris Vorobyov
• You Cried in Your Sleep, 2024, as father

Host

Ivan Urgant has hosted many different TV shows, including:

• Petersburg Courier (5TV, 1999)
• Big Movie (MTV Russia, 2001)
• Cheerful Morning with Olga Shelest (MTV Russia, 2001–2002)
• Total Show (MTV Russia, 2002)
• Expresso with Tatyana Gevorkyan (MTV Russia, 2002–2004)
• People's Artist with Fyokla Tolstaya (Russia-1, 2003–2004)
• Pyramid (Russia-1, 2004)
• Great Premiere (Channel One, 2005)
• Spring with Ivan Urgant (Channel One, 2006)
• Gusto (Channel One; 2006–2018)
• Circus With Stars with Alexandra Volkovskaya (Channel One, 2007–2008)
• Stenka na stenku (Showdown) with Aleksandr Tsekalo (Channel One, 2007–2008)
• The Magic World of Walt Disney (Channel One, 2007–2011)
• Big Difference with Aleksandr Tsekalo (Channel One, 2008–2012)
• One-Storied America with Vladimir Pozner (Channel One, 2008)
• Prozhektorperiskhilton with Aleksandr Tsekalo, Garik Martirosyan and Sergei Svetlakov (Channel One, 2008–2012, 2017)
• Tour de France with Vladimir Pozner (Channel One, 2011)
• Evening Urgant (Channel One; 2012–2022)
• Their Italia with Vladimir Pozner (Channel One; 2012)
• The German Puzzle with Vladimir Pozner (Channel One; 2013)
• England in general and particular with Vladimir Pozner (Channel One; 2014)
• Jewish Happiness with Vladimir Pozner (Channel One; 2016)
• Podmoskovnie vechera (Channel One; 2016–2017). He was a producer for this show.
• In search of Don Quixote with Vladimir Pozner (Channel One; 2017)
• The Most. The Most. The Most with Vladimir Pozner (Channel One; 2019)
• Japan. The reverse side of the kimono with Vladimir Pozner (Channel One; 2021)

Music

Ivan Urgant can play the guitar, piano, and drums. In the late 1990s, he performed music under the name Vnuk, which means Grandson in Russian. In 2011, Ivan started his singing career again. Now, he performs under the name Grisha Urgant.

Discography

• 1999 — "Star"
• 2012 — "Estrada"

Theatrical Experience

Ivan Urgant played the role of Savva Vasilkov in the play "Mad Money." This play was performed at the Moscow Pushkin Drama Theatre.

See also

In Spanish: Iván Úrgant para niños