Irina Vitalyevna Ponarovskaya (born March 12, 1953, in Leningrad) is a Soviet and Russian singer and actress. She began playing piano at age six and graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory music school, studying harp and piano. At fifteen, she began vocal training under Lina Arkhangelskaya. In 1971, Ponarovskaya joined the pop ensemble Poyushchiye Gitary (The Singing Guitars). She achieved a breakthrough in 1974 starring in the rock opera film Orpheus and Eurydice. After moving to Moscow in 1976, she sang with Oleg Lundstrem’s jazz orchestra. During the 1980s, Ponarovskaya performed in musical television programs such as Song of the Year. Her debut solo album, That’s the Way My Life Goes, was released in 1990, followed by The Woman is Always Right (1997). A winner of the 1976 Sopot International Song Festival Grand Prix, Ponarovskaya was named Miss Chanel of the Soviet Union in 1990. She received the title Merited Artist of the Russian Federation in 2019.
