Kyra Petrovskaya Wayne facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kyra Petrovskaya Wayne
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Kyra Petrovskaya Wayne.
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Kyra Petrovskaya
31 December 1918 |
| Died | 3 June 2018 (aged 99) Kingston, Washington, U.S.
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| Nationality | Russian, American |
Kyra Petrovskaya Wayne (born December 31, 1918 – died June 3, 2018) was an amazing Russian-American author, actress, and even a sniper during World War II. She survived the terrible siege of Leningrad and later married an American diplomat. After moving to the United States, she became a successful writer, publishing 14 books. Kyra also appeared on many television shows, gave talks about history and literature on cruise ships, and performed as a singer.
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Early Life and Talents
Kyra was born in Crimea, a beautiful region on the Black Sea coast, in 1918. Her family was part of the Russian nobility. Her father was a pilot in World War I. Sadly, he was executed by a firing squad after the Russian Revolution when Kyra was only seven months old. Her mother never remarried, and they lived in poverty in Leningrad with Kyra's grandmother. Many men in their family were lost during the Russian Civil War that followed the revolution.
When Kyra was eight, she was accepted into a special school for musically talented children, the Leningrad Academic Capella. She also joined the children’s group at the Kirov Theater of Opera and Ballet. Even though she studied music, she also had military training. All Soviet schools included military education, like marching, learning about guns, and shooting practice. Kyra was a very good marksman. At 16, she earned a special award called the Voroshilov Marksman badge. After school, she went to the Institute of Theater Arts and became an actress and concert singer.
Surviving the Siege of Leningrad
In 1941, at the start of the siege of Leningrad, Kyra was drafted into the Red Army. She became a sniper and a lieutenant. This was a very difficult time. Almost one million people in Leningrad died from starvation, including Kyra’s mother and grandmother, while Kyra was serving in the army.
Kyra was wounded twice during her service. After recovering, she returned to work as a field nurse. During this time, she rescued a homeless orphan boy. This boy later became the main character in her book, Shurik. By the end of the war, she had received three medals for her bravery. In 1943, she moved to Moscow and joined the Moscow Satire Theatre, continuing her acting career.
New Life in the United States
Because Kyra spoke several languages, she was often invited to diplomatic parties. There, she met her future husband, an American diplomat named Shirk. They married in February 1946. This was the first church wedding between a foreigner and a Russian since the Revolution. Because many important diplomats attended, Kyra was allowed to leave Russia with her husband. They moved to the United States a few months later.
Kyra hoped to continue her acting career in the U.S. She went to several auditions but found it hard to get roles, mainly because of her accent. Her husband bought a farm in Pennsylvania, but neither of them knew much about farming! They worked hard on the farm, and Kyra kept singing. She even had her own musical TV show in Pennsylvania called Interlude with Kyra. She also became a popular speaker, giving talks to many groups.
After nine years, Kyra and her husband divorced. Kyra then moved to Los Angeles. She appeared on famous TV shows like Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life. In 1955, she was on the show Big Surprise, but she didn't win the big prize.
A publisher offered her a contract to write her life story. In 1959, her first book, Kyra, was published. Her TV appearances also led to more invitations for concerts and television. Sadly, many years later, Kyra had to stop singing due to a health issue that affected her vocal cords.
In 1960, she married Dr. George Wayne, a respected psychiatrist. They traveled a lot, and Kyra became a popular lecturer on Royal Viking Line cruises for ten years. Her husband passed away in 1994. Kyra had one son and five grandchildren. She loved dogs very much, and some of her books are even about them.
Kyra Petrovskaya Wayne passed away in June 2018, at the age of 99.
Kyra's Books and Stories
Writing was a part of Kyra’s life from a very young age. A story she wrote at age seven was published in a school magazine. She was also part of a special program where students created a Russian version of Huckleberry Finn for children’s theater. She believed this play was still performed in Russia. After her autobiography was a success, Kyra wrote 13 more books. Her books covered many different topics, from Greek mythology to Russian cooking, and from Russian-American history to young adult novels.
Other Ways She Made a Difference
In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Kyra was very active in many cultural and community groups. She received many awards for her work. In the 1980s, she started and led the Clean Air Program (CAP). This program was part of the American Lung Association of Los Angeles County and aimed to reduce smog. She was also president of the UCLA Medical Faculty Wives and a board member of ISOMATA, an international school for music and arts. She was involved in several other cultural organizations in Los Angeles.
