Mariya Poroshina is a noted Russian stage and film actress, famous for her portrayal of Svetlana - the female lead in the vampire franchise 'Night Watch' and 'Day Watch'. Mariya was born in Moscow, Soviet Union. Her mother was opera director and her father was a folk singer. Her parents divorced, and young Mariya was brought up by her stepfather. She started taking ballet and singing classes at the age of 5. By the time she finished school, her future had been settled: encouraged by her parents she attended Shchukin Drama School. When still a student she married actor Yuri Kutsenko. The marriage lasted 5 years and produced a daughter. From the early 1990s she has appeared regularly on TV and had small parts in B-movies. Her stage career has been more successful with dozens of leads in highly acclaimed productions of both classic and modern plays. Mariya's breakthrough as a film actress came with Night Watch - an adaptation of a vampire book series. Although the film polarised critics and got mixed reviews, the story of the never-ending battle between the good and the evil set in the present day Moscow became a sort of a cultural phenomenon in Russia and set a box office record. In the film Mariya's character is seduced by a person who happened to be portrayed by her former husband Yuriy Kutsenko. After the film release Mariya was busy answering only one question: "How does it feel working with an ex-husband?" Her reply was: "We are friends and we are actors, you see... Besides, he is the father of my daughter". Day Watch premiered in January 2006 and was a smash hit. Outside of her film career, Poroshina is a member of the troupe of Sergei Vinogradov in Moscow, Russia. She is in her second marriage to actor Ilya Drevnov.
