Where and how 87-year-old Ada Rohovtseva is now: she buried her son and beloved husband and is bringing Ukraine's victory closer. Photo

The legendary Ukrainian actress Ada Rohovtseva has been through a lot in her 87 years of life, which she celebrates on July 16, from the death of her lover whom she met at university to the loss of her son to cancer. But despite the hardships of fate, she hasn't given up and is still acting in the theater and, even, supporting Ukrainian soldiers.

Now the actress lives in Ukraine and has started performing again. She urges Ukrainians to donate to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but at the same time shows by her example that she does not stand aside and also helps and supports our soldiers. OBOZ.UA decided to collect some of the most important moments of the actress's life on the birthday of the famous theater and film star.

The love of her life

While still a student, the actress fell in love with a then-married teacher, Kostiantyn Stepankovych. The couple met at university. All of the future star's classmates ran after the man, but he gave his heart to young Ada.

"Kost Petrovych is the first and only man in my life. We shared the same profession and understood each other. That's why we lived so long. It was not love at first sight, because he was married and very handsome. Girls stuck to him, and a year later I fell into that net myself," the actress said in an interview earlier.

The actress's grandmother did not like the chosen one, so the young girl took only her fork and blanket and followed the man, who was already divorced from his wife. The newlyweds celebrated their wedding in 1959 in the presence of only the actress's sick mother.

Rohovtseva emphasized that she was the main one in their family. They had the formula "Ada wants", which meant that any of her whims were fulfilled. The couple had to go through many trials together, including treatment for the terrible tuberculosis that Stepankovych contracted.

In 2004, the actress's husband passed away at the age of 76 due to cancer. The couple had two children together: a son, Kostia, and a daughter, Katia.

Losing a son to a fatal disease

Kostiantyn Konstantynovych, like his father, died of cancer. In 2012, he lost the fight against the deadly disease. He was only 49 years old. After her son's death, the People's Artist released a book of memoirs symbolically titled "Certificate of Life".

"I am not in this world. After my son died, I was gone. I don't know how, but I found some strength and wrote this book. Because now I don't go on stage, and when you play in the theater all your life, you get energy, love, and interest from you, the audience. Now I'm exhausted because I don't have this. But maybe I'll get my act together and continue to go on stage. Because I have a daughter who is my friend, a soldier who does not leave his mother's side, and I have three grandchildren. They are my blood, my nerves, my soul, my life. For their sake, I continue to live," Rogovtseva admitted during the presentation of her book.

But the theater star still managed to find the strength to continue living. She felt responsible for her son's children and wrote about it in this book: "My wings were burned, and I was gone. And this is not poetry – the old me is gone. Now there is another person who is needed by my granddaughter Dasha. My son will not forgive me from the other side if I don't do everything possible for his daughter."

Support for Ukraine

In August 2018, Ada Rohovtseva traveled to the devastated Avdiivka. Back then, the actress came to the frontline city to speak to local residents and Ukrainian soldiers. Despite the risks, she and her colleagues tried to raise the morale and morale of their compatriots.

After the performance, the star said: "Avdiivka is an open wound. Avdiivka is courage. We have visited many villages and battalions. And we talked to such people that you believe that better times will come. There will be a victory! Ukraine will survive. I am in love with many of our guys – whether they are 18 or 60, it doesn't matter. They are our own children and defenders."

Russian actress Oksana Stashenko has gone so far as to call Rohovtseva a "werewolf" because of her hatred for the Russian people for all the atrocities they commit.

"I consider these people to be werewolves. They played in Russian movies, hating Russia. They hid their views for money and only then revealed their mask. Hypocrites, werewolves," the propagandist said.

Ada Rohovtseva used to act in Russian films, but after 2014 she broke all ties with the aggressor country. According to the actress herself, she has been working in Russian culture for almost 60 years.

The 87-year-old star firmly and confidently said that she could never betray Ukraine. Even when she was working in Russia, she never left the Kyiv theater, and she brought home all the money she earned abroad and spent it, in particular, on the development of Ukrainian culture.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that in July this year, Ada Rohovtseva returned to the big stage, playing the main role in the play "Be Like Home". The actors dedicated the production to the Ukrainian soldier Pasha Li, who died at the hands of the Russians.

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