Valentina Leontyeva

Valentina Mikhailovna Leontjewa (Russian Валентина Михайловна Леонтьева; born August 1, 1923 in Petrograd, USSR; † 20 May 2007 Nowosjolki, Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia) was one of the first television presenters in the USSR.

Life and work

Since 1954, Valentina Leontjewa worked as a presenter for Soviet television, especially of children's programs, such as W gostjach u skaski ( In fairy tales as a guest ). Through this program she was commonly known as Aunt Valya (Russian Тётя Валя ). Their increasing fame meant that it was in 1975 awarded the USSR State Prize and in 1982 with the title People's Artist of the USSR. It is still the only television presenter, who was awarded this prize. She worked until her retirement in 1991 at the First Channel of the Soviet television. Most recently, she lived with her sister in a nursing home in the Ulyanovsk Oblast.