Varvara
Shmykova
Varvara Shmykova (b. 1992, Moscow) is a Russian-born actress based in Berlin. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, she relocated to Germany, where she has continued her artistic career across Europe. She graduated from the Moscow Art Theatre School in 2016 (Workshop of Viktor Ryzhakov).
Shmykova has collaborated with internationally acclaimed directors including Andrey Zvyagintsev, Kirill Serebrennikov, and Anna Melikyan. In 2026, she appeared in Zvyagintsev's latest feature, Minotaur, which premiered in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival and was awarded the Grand Prix. Her screen credits also include Loveless (Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and Academy Award nominee for Best International Feature), Petrov's Flu, and Tchaikovsky's Wife.
She recently completed the lead role in MATRÖSHKI, the debut feature film by director Alina Yklymova, produced by Schiwago Film in co-production with the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg (Ludwigsburg). The film marks Shmykova's first leading role in a German feature film.
On stage, she has appeared in productions such as Platonov, Baal, and Three Sisters. Since relocating to Germany, she has performed in Kirill Serebrennikov's Don Giovanni / Requiem at Komische Oper Berlin and Der Schneesturm, presented at the Salzburg Festival before transferring to Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus.
Alongside her artistic work, Shmykova is actively involved in social initiatives supporting children, elderly people, and women's rights. She uses her public platform to advocate for body positivity, comprehensive sex education, and civic engagement, and serves as an ambassador for a pro-feminist girls' football club. Her work explores questions of identity, freedom, and human resilience. Whether on stage or on screen, she is drawn to stories in which emotional honesty is inseparable from the social and political realities of our time.