Sofya Skya


Sofya Andreyevna Arzhakovskaya is a Russian actress, ballet dancer and acting coach.

Early life

Skya was born on August 12, 1987, in St. Petersburg, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. Her grandmother, Emma Shchetinina, was a famous harpist and teacher, while her grandfather, Mark Fliderman, was a concertmaster of The State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia.
Skya began attending dance classes at a young age, and when she turned nine, she enrolled at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. At the age of twelve she moved to Ufa for further training in ballet. She graduated from The Bashkir Choreographic College. As a principal dancer Skya performed solo in such ballets as Swan Lake, La Bayadère, Snow White, La Esmeralda, and Raymonda at the Bashkortostan State Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Skya won numerous beauty contests. In 2005 she opened the third Vienna Opera Ball charity event in Moscow and won the "Russian Grace" contest. In 2006, she won the "Mrs World" pageant in St Petersburg.

Career

In 2008, Skya appeared as a desperate mother in The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, directed by John Kent Harrison. In 2009 she landed her first leading role in The Tomb, a film based on Edgar Allan Poe's Ligeia, starring Wes Bentley and Eric Roberts.
Following her appearances in those films, she was invited to play roles in Limelight and in Shadows in Paradise alongside Mark Dacascos. Also in 2010, she appeared in a Russian comedy, Klub Schast'ya, which brought her fame in Russia.
In 2013 Skya played the lead role in the film, Assassins Run, directed by Robert Crombie, alongside Christian Slater and Cole Hauser. In June 2013, Skya led the opening ceremony of the 35th Moscow International Film Festival.
She also appeared in the American thriller, My Stepdaughter ; the drama, Opus of an Angel, directed by Ali Zamani; and the British thriller, Welcome to Curiosity.
In 2019 she starred in the historical drama film, Once There Was a War, alongside Ben Cross. The movie is about the 14-day war between Serbia and Bulgaria in 1885, and is directed by famous Bulgarian director Anri Kulev. Skya played a Russian physician named Countess Anastasia Golovina.

Other activities

In 2013 Skya performed a dance of tsaritsa Syuyumbike at the opening ceremony of the XXVII Summer Universiade in Kazan. She supports charity events, such as "Meet For Charity".

Filmography

YearTitleRoleDirector
2005Hope for the AddictedRobert Crombie, Sofya Skya
2009LimelightTatyanaDavid Semel
2009The Courageous Heart of Irena SendlerDesperate MotherJohn Kent Harrison
2009The TombLigeia RomanovaMichael Straininger
2010Shadows in ParadiseLt. Sasha VillanoffJ. Stephen Maunder
2010Klub schast'yaKatyaIgor Kalenov
2013White Swan Maya LetiniskayaRobert Crombie, Sofya Skya
2014Coca Cola CommercialBallerinaSalvador Carrasco
2014Operator real'nostiSof'yaVasiliy Pavlov
2015My StepdaughterSkylarSofia Shinas
2017Opus of an AngelErinAli Zamani
2018Welcome to CuriosityAlinaBen Pickering
2019Once There Was a WarAnastasiya GolovinaAnri Kulev
2020NartaiYuliyaGul'nara Sarsenova, Dito Tsintsadze
2020CovenEmilyMargaret Malandruccolo

YearTitleRoleNotesDirector
2009OlympiaEpisode: "Grounds for Deception"Duane Clark