As the wife of the newly elected President of Ukraine, Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska has been thrust into the public eye as one of Ukraine’s most recognizable faces. From her work as a writer to her husband’s political campaign, Zelenska’s life has been filled with many interesting and sometimes unexpected twists and turns. This blog will explore Zelenska’s life and career before she became the First Lady of Ukraine. Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska: A Life in the public eye
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Wiki Biography and more
Ukrainian screenwriter and politician. She is currently First Lady of Ukraine as a wife of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Wiki Bio Born Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska on 12 January 1978 in Kremenchuk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Poltava Oblast, Ukraine)… Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska: A Life in the public eye
Bio
Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska is a Ukrainian screenwriter who is the First Lady of Ukraine as the wife of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In December 2019, Zelenska was included in the list of 100 most influential Ukrainians by Focus magazine, taking 30th place. The winner of numerous awards, including five international prizes for her movies and TV series projects, she has been involved with movie production from its very inception.
Family
Olena has 3 siblings; Larysa, Dmytro and Alyona. She has a daughter from her first marriage (Olya). The family currently lives in Kiev but owns a house in Vyshhorod which is where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy grew up. It’s where he used to live with his parents and his two brothers, Mykhailo and Vasyl. Both of his brothers are also known for their political views.
Relationship
before marrying President Volodymyr, Olena was engaged to another fellow Ukrainian businessman who is much older than her and has a son. At one point, Olena was an actress and had worked on a few Ukrainian TV shows including Channel 1+1’s Modern Talking and STB’s The Choice. After coming into contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr, it didn’t take long for them to find out that they had many things in common including their love of language.
Physical info
Olena is a pretty 5ft6 tall Ukrainian screenwriter. She keeps her blond hair long and has dark brown eyes that compliment her pale complexion. Olena wears classic outfits with simple designs but they are always very flattering to her figure and make sure she looks stylish and elegant. Her preferred colors include black, white, grey and pink and she can often be seen wearing a bright red lipstick.
Career
Before marrying President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, she worked as a journalist and film critic. She had appeared in television series Maidan and is the creator of several television shows including The Government Inspector. In 2017, she wrote for political comedy Servant of the People (TV Series) where her future husband played a lead role as civil servant history teacher who becomes President by accident.
Awards
The Kharkiv Oblast Children’s Center for Cardiovascular Surgery received five computers from Olena Zelenska. In August 2019, five newly purchased Apple laptops were transferred to a new children’s cardiac center that treats one of Ukraine’s most dangerous congenital heart diseases. The Kharkiv Oblast Children’s Center for Cardiovascular Surgery serves as a pediatric cardiology hub and is used by eight regional hospitals with 912 children treated since 2017.
Net worth
US$1.2 billion to US$2.4 billion : Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska is a Ukrainian screenwriter who is the First Lady of Ukraine as the wife of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In December 2019, Zelenska was included in the list of 100 most influential Ukrainians by Focus magazine, taking 30th place.
Introduction
Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska is a Ukrainian screenwriter who is currently serving as First Lady of Ukraine. She has received media attention due to her controversial marriage to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Her fame exploded after her husband became a candidate for Ukraine’s presidential election, 2019 and she starred in his campaign advertisements. Besides writing scripts for television series and stage plays, she also works as a political consultant.
Education
In 2004, she graduated from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv majoring in journalism. In 2012 she graduated from Kyiv-Mohyla Academy majoring in political science. She has also studied at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television twice (in 2016 and 2017).
Career beginnings
During her studies, Olena worked as a journalist at a local newspaper called The Weekly Mirror of Vinnytsia (Ukrainian: Вінницький вістівник) and after graduation worked as an editor for two other newspapers before moving to Kiev. In 2007, she founded her own production company, Studio 1+1 Film.
Turning point
Often, you don’t know it yet, but life has a way of turning on its axis. For Volodymyr and Olena, it was a visit to Ukraine by Barack Obama and his then-first lady Michelle Obama back in 2016 that really got them thinking about politics—and when Volodymyr lost out in his presidential bid later that year (he finished second to Petro Poroshenko), he became more serious about entering politics.
Success and recognition
She studied at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, where she graduated with a degree in journalism. Later, she got a master’s degree in Russian Language and Literature from Kiev University. After her graduation, she became a journalist for 1+1 TV channel and worked there for seven years. Later on, she was transferred to the main office of 1+1 Media Group. In 2010, Olena married popular Ukrainian comedian and showman Vladimir Zelenskyy.
Business interests
Since 2002, she has been a co-owner of an advertising agency, a member of its board of directors and editor-in-chief. In 2007–2010, Zelenska was Editor-in-Chief at Channel 5. She also headed one of its creative teams and produced Face to Face (A face), program on TV channel Ukraine.[9] Her company Yuziv Media produces various programs for Ukrainian channels such as Inter, 1+1 and Novyi Kanal.
Family life
In June 2013, Zelenska married businessman and politician Vitaliy Kovalchuk. In January 2019, their divorce was finalized. The couple have two children: a son Dovyd (born June 7, 2014) and a daughter Maksym (born March 31, 2016).
Endorsements
Successful people have not only brains and charisma, but also a solid network of contacts. They know how to get noticed and they use endorsements to give a boost to their careers. Make sure you know who your mentors are and try getting endorsed by them. Your mentors could be among successful people like Olena Zelenska, who was endorsed by Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg just after she wrote her first movie script.
Controversies/Criticism
Some of her clients have been under investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. While working as a translator, she worked with Paul Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik, who has been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice; she has also given conflicting accounts about her work for Manafort, including whether or not she was aware that he was a political consultant.
Q. & A.
How does it feel to be so popular? Is there anything that you’d like to tell your admirers? I appreciate people who treat me with respect. The most important thing for me is love, friendship and trust, without which it is hard to lead a happy life. I am grateful to everyone who puts their trust in me and support my work. At work, as well as in family life, I try not to let people down.
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