Kristina Penkhasova was born in the Krasnodar region, in the resort town of Dzhubga, located on the Black Sea coast. Parents were creative people. Mom Tamara Ivanovna is a former professional dancer. In her youth she was a member of the National Honored Academic Dance Ensemble of Ukraine named after Pavel Virsky. Father Evgeny Semenovich Penkhasov was a musician who collaborated with several famous groups, including the famous ensemble “Gems”.

When Kristina was 6 years old, the family moved to Kislovodsk. Here the girl studied not only at a comprehensive school, but also studied at choreographic and music schools. Her father's friend, a famous songwriter, wrote a song for the young girl and even helped make a demo recording at a local recording studio. Of course, this test did not bring Penkhasova any popularity, but it gave her the opportunity to gain experience working with sound.

At the age of 16, the girl left for Moscow, as producer and poet Alexander Shaganov created the pop group “10-A” and invited Kristina Penkhasova as a vocalist. In this semi-amateur group she performed under the pseudonym Kristina Pozharskaya. She also collaborated with the famous group “Lesopoval” as a soloist and backing vocalist.

Music

In 1995, the Soyuz Production studio held a casting for a new musical project in the style of Russian chanson. Christina becomes a participant in the competition and wins. As part of the project, under the pseudonym Masha Sha, she releases the albums “Misha+Masha=Sha!!!” and “Masha-sha - Rubber Vanyusha.” Both records were released in 1998 and were distinguished by rather low-grade texts on erotic themes, authored by Mikhail Sheleg. After the release of the albums, Christina dramatically changes not only her repertoire, but also her pseudonym to Katya Ogonyok.

Since 1997, she has collaborated with composer and producer Vyacheslav Klimenkov and, under his leadership, released the album “White Taiga” in 1998. A year later, the continuation album “White Taiga-2” is released. The songs on these albums are written in Katya Ogonyok’s signature style of Russian chanson, from which she will never deviate.

Many of the lyrics of these compositions raise the topic of prison life, but there are also many songs about love, separation, and loneliness of a person. The albums became very popular among fans of the chanson genre.

The uniqueness of Katya Ogonyok lay in her passionate presentation of the material, characteristic of a young woman. After all, most performers of the genre are mature men. Against their background, the girl's voice stood out very much.

In 2000, albums of new songs “A Call from the Zone” and “Through the Years” were released, as well as several collections of the singer’s popular well-known compositions. Since 2001, her records began to be released annually, one at a time. “Road Romance”, “Commandment”, “Debut Album” with early songs covered, “Kiss”, “Katya”. The last disc during the singer’s life was the album “Happy Birthday, Buddy!” 2006.

Katya Ogonyok was a very popular performer of Russian chanson not only in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. She was invited to tour to many countries where former compatriots lived - Israel, Germany, the USA. But in America she was never destined to perform due to bureaucratic delays. In 2007, Katya Ogonyok worked on new songs, but did not have time to see her new album. The CD “In My Heart” was released in 2008 and became a posthumous monument to the singer.

Personal life

Katya Ogonyok entered into her only official marriage when she was still 19 years old. It was a childhood friend whom she was waiting for from the army. The couple lived together for 2 years, then separated, and a year later they officially divorced. Subsequently, the singer had only civil marriages and work-related romances.

Kristina Penhasova's last husband was former boxer Levon Kojava. In 2001, Katya Ogonyok gave birth to a daughter, Valeria, who would later follow in her mother’s footsteps and dedicate one of her songs to her. Lera lived and was raised by the singer’s parents.

It is known that Katya Ogonyok in her youth, in addition to dancing and music, was fond of various martial arts, especially women's boxing.

Death

Katya Ogonyok died on the morning of October 24, 2007 from acute heart failure and pulmonary edema. The cause of death, according to doctors, was cirrhosis of the liver, although the singer was admitted to the hospital after an attack of epilepsy, which she had suffered from early childhood.

The funeral took place in Moscow, at the Nikolo-Arkhangelskoye cemetery. In order to erect a monument on the grave of the famous singer, whom many fans called the “queen of Russian chanson,” Kristina Penkhasova’s father had to organize a charity concert in the city of Krasnogorsk in 2010.

Discography

• 1998 - White Taiga I
• 1999 - White Taiga II
• 2000 - Call from the zone
• 2000 - After a year
• 2001 - Road Romance
• 2002 - Commandment
• 2003 - Debut album
• 2004 - Kiss
• 2005 - Katya
• 2006 - Happy birthday, Koresh!
• 2008 - In my heart

Fans of Russian chanson know and love this performer very much. Katya Ogonyok, whose biography is like a flash of a bright star, won hearts with her soulful performance, sincerity and touching image. What a pity that fate gave her too few years! How many more masterpieces could she have given to a grateful public if not for this fatal illness.

The birth of a singer

Katya Ogonyok, whose photo is in this article, was born on May 17, 1977. She was also known as Masha Sha, but the real name of the queen of Russian chanson is Penkhasova Kristina Evgenievna. Her family was creative: her father Evgeniy Semyonovich was a musician, for some time he worked with the famous ensemble “Gems”. The mother was a housewife, but before the birth of her daughter she danced in the famous Virsky studio. Singer Katya Ogonyok was born in an urban village, but then the family moved to Kislovodsk for permanent residence.

The beginning of a stellar career

Peers remember Katya as a lively girl, active and energetic. She studied at a regular school and at the same time studied music, ballet and choreography. These skills later came in handy on the big stage. In 1995, the talented girl was noticed by Vyacheslav Klimenkov, who invited her to his new project. Then a new sonorous pseudonym for the singer appeared. Katya Ogonyok, whose biography resembles a good fairy tale, began performing on stage that same year and won the Russian chanson competition. After all, her velvety, hoarse voice was ideal for this genre, and “pop” was not interesting to her.

Katya’s first album, which appeared in 1998, included compositions based on poems by Slava Klimenkov. Its name was “White Taiga”, and it enjoyed enormous popularity. A little later, she briefly collaborated with the Lesopoval group, as well as with M. Sheleg and V. Chernyakov. However, subsequent works did not bring her such triumph as her debut. Over the course of her entire creative life, the singer has released a dozen solo albums and an endless number of collections.

Personal life

Katya Ogonyok, whose biography is beautiful and tragic at the same time, was not officially married. She had a common-law husband, Levan Koyava, with whom she gave birth to a daughter, Valeria, in 2001. They lived in Moscow, alternating long tours with a quiet, peaceful life.

The tragic end of the singer's life

Anyone who listens to songs performed by Katya is sure that she died too early. However, a terrible illness tore her from life, leaving the album “You are in my heart” and many other plans unfinished. She left this world on October 24, 2007 in the intensive care unit of one of the capital’s clinics. Doctors would later name the cause of death - heart failure, but her strength was undermined by exhausting work without rest and normal living conditions. Without sparing herself, Katya Ogonyok, whose biography we discussed above, gave charity concerts, traveled to prisons, comforting the disadvantaged and those who had stumbled, and donated money to them.

She was only thirty when she left us. She went into another world, but not into oblivion. After all, her songs still excite the listener, incite optimism, and captivate with soulfulness. The star was buried at the Nikolo-Arkhangelsk cemetery in Moscow. And to this day, her most devoted fans bring fresh flowers to her grave.

Katya Ogonyok (according to her passport, Kristina Penkhasova) was born on May 17, 1977 in the Krasnodar Territory (the village of Dzhubga). Her mother worked as a dancer, and her father was a musician. Katya’s nationality according to her passport is a citizen of the USSR, although some claim that she has Jewish hereditary roots. The biography of the future singer Katya Ogonyok was initially quite interesting. The girl graduated from primary high school in her hometown and continued her studies in Kislovodsk.

Her father comes up with the idea to persuade his composer friend to write a song for his daughter. After her performance, the girl is offered to perform several more songs, which eventually formed the first album of the young singer. After the release of this album, fame did not come to Katya, and she decides to go to Moscow. Upon arrival in the capital, the girl completely plunges into her new life and begins to sing songs in the style of pop music.

At the beginning of March 1995, a competition was held in Moscow with great pomp and scale, in which participants performed songs in the style of chanson. Kristina Penkhasova takes part in this competition and takes first place. This performance is also significant because from now on the singer appears on stage under the pseudonym Katya Ogonyok or Masha Sha.

During 1995-1998, Katya Ogonyok traveled a lot with concerts and recorded several albums. Her songs are permeated with tough humor and open defiance. But since 1998, Ogonyok’s repertoire has changed somewhat and become more in line with classical chanson. Many of her songs are dedicated to love and separation, true fidelity and betrayal. Throughout the 90s, her songs were quite popular and Katya Ogonyok’s concerts were always in great demand.

Many explain the secret of the artist’s popularity by the fact that she managed to bring romance and love notes into the harsh reality of Russian chanson. Katya Ogonyok's songs contain real life meaning, and not made-up stories. That is why her songs were so popular especially among men of various ages. Katya performed her songs herself, but in some cases she sang with the famous chanson performer Vyacheslav Klimenkov. Some of Katya's songs are still used by some radio broadcasts as background music.

In 1999, Ogonyok released a licensed disc of his songs. In the same year, the new album “Call from the Zone” will collect an unprecedented number of copies and become a hit for a whole generation of chanson lovers. In 2000, a remix of these hit songs was released and sold throughout the country in large quantities. Since that time, Katya Ogonyok has been working with producer Chernyak, with the help of whom she manages to create and record as many as 8 new albums. In the same year, the singer in one interview talks about the fact that she has a real criminal record and even served a prison sentence under Article 211. She claimed that she served two and a half years in prison and was released under an amnesty. This interview was distributed across all channels, and was perceived by many fans of Katya Ogonyok’s talent as a sensation.

According to producer Chernyakov, at this time Katya earned little and led a rather modest lifestyle. She rented an apartment in Moscow and still managed to support her parents. According to the singer’s close friends, in her behavior and lifestyle, Katya was a simple Russian woman, and not some kind of superstar. She did not hide her addiction to alcohol from those around her.

When asked about her musical idols, she always eagerly said that since childhood she had loved the songs of Lydia Ruslanova and Ella Jerola, whom she considered outstanding and strong pop personalities.
Katya Ogonyok died at the end of October 2007 from acute heart failure and severe edema of both lungs. In addition, Katya had serious problems with her liver and had frequent attacks of epilepsy. The singer’s grave is located in Moscow at the Nikolo-Arkhangelskoye cemetery.

Katya Ogonyok's husband

For the first and last time in her life, Katya married her childhood friend at the age of 19. Almost nothing is known about Katya Ogonyok’s husband. This marriage did not last long and ended in divorce.
After this bitter experience, the singer never officially married again and lived the rest of her life with boxer Levan Koyavai. In 2001, she gave birth to a daughter, Lera, from Levan. Her personal life was inaccessible to reporters. But Katya’s closest friends, Ogonyok, claim that their relationship was tender and sincere and ended only after Katya’s sudden death in 2007.

Daughter of Katya Ogonyok

Daughter Lera Ogonyok suffered the death of her mother hard and still cannot fully cope with this loss. Due to Katya Ogonyok’s constant tours, Lera’s upbringing was handled by her grandparents. As a child, Lera was seriously involved in ballroom dancing and even won various competitions several times. Many are surprised by the very similar appearance of Katya’s mother and her already grown-up daughter Lera. The daughter’s character is also similar to her mother. Lera decided to continue her mother’s work and, with the support of a producer, recorded a song and dedicated it to her mother.

Myths about Katya Ogonyok appeared during her lifetime, fans discussed the fictional biography of the Russian chanson star, various rumors also circulated regarding the cause of the singer’s death, and in her photo many tried to discern traces of alcohol abuse. Last fall marked 10 years since Katya’s death, many myths have been debunked, but interest in her personal life does not fade.

Kristina Penkhasova (Bogdanova), known as Katya Ogonyok, was born on May 17, 1977 in the family of a musician from the Gems ensemble and a dancer. Kristina lived in her native village of Dzhubga (Krasnodar Territory) for 6 years, and her school years were spent in Kislovodsk, where, in parallel with general education, the girl graduated from music and choreography school.

She inherited the talents of her mother and father, but since childhood she loved singing more than dancing.

At the age of 16, the girl set off to conquer the capital. Her family supported her, her parents sold their home in Kislovodsk and moved to Moscow.

The aspiring singer performed and recorded songs, first as Kristina Pozharskaya, then as Masha Sha. And Katya Ogonyok was born in 1998.

It is the word “born” that is most appropriate here, since it is not just a pseudonym, but an image, an independent personality with a biography that differs from the biography of Kristina Penkhasova.

The life of Christina herself was not easy; the fame of the queen of Russian chanson did not bring her much wealth. From a young age, the girl was the main breadwinner in the family. The parents took care of their granddaughter Lera, because the girl’s father did not take a particularly active part in her upbringing. But despite the rather difficult life in prison, Christina, contrary to rumors, never went to prison.

The legend that Katya Ogonyok is a former prisoner was invented by her producer. This is exactly the kind of biography that suited the performer of criminal songs.

According to this legend, Katya went to prison as the culprit of an accident in which several people died, spent two and a half years in prison and was released under an amnesty. At the prison amateur club, she recorded several songs on a tape recorder, and her father took this recording to the Soyuz Production company. The hoarse voice of the young prisoner impressed the producers, and they visited her in prison, where Katya’s debut album “White Taiga” was recorded. And after her release, she continued her career as a singer in the chanson genre.

Although after the singer’s death the legend about her prison past was refuted by the producer, many still do not separate the real person, Kristina Pozharskaya, and the fictional character, Katya Ogonyok. Yes, the singer herself became accustomed to her stage image; the pseudonym Ogonyok reflected her nature in the best possible way.

Katya was a very bright person and at the same time had a hot temperament. It was in the image of Katya Ogonyok that she reached the heights of her creative career and became a popular favorite.

Music career

In 1995, Christina won the competition from Soyuz Production. The first notable project within the framework of work for this company was the album “Misha + Masha = SHA!”, recorded together with Mikhail Sheleg in 1998.

A little later, a second album appeared, the songs of which were also distinguished by rough humor of a sexual nature. The girl performed under the provocative pseudonym Masha Sha for 3 years, then the promotion of another project began and a new pseudonym was needed.

Prison songs and criminal lyrics have always been popular in Russia, but it was a traditionally male genre. With Katya Ogonyok a new era of Russian chanson began, her songs about the fate of women prisoners, about worries and sorrows, simple joys sounded soulful.

Rumors about her prison experience, which the singer herself did not deny, contributed to the growth of her popularity.

Katya Ogonyok's first 2 albums were recorded together with Vyacheslav Klimenkov, producer and co-performer. Since 2000, she has worked under the guidance of producer Vladimir Chernyakov. Over the years of her musical career, the performer recorded:

• 2 albums as Masha Sha;
• 21 albums as Katya Ogonyok. The first, “White Taiga,” appeared in 1998, and the last, “In My Heart,” was released after the performer’s death, in 2008.

But fans who preferred to listen to her live. Katya's concert schedule was very busy, she never canceled performances, and was a very responsible person. Perhaps precisely because the singer devoted a lot of effort to her work, her personal life was not particularly successful.

Personal life

Almost nothing is known about Katya’s (Kristina) first husband except his last name (Bogdanov). They had been friends since school and got married when the guy returned from the army, and Christina herself was only 19.

The marriage lasted 3 years, and then Katya Ogonyok met Levan Koyav, the next important event in her biography was the birth of her daughter Valeria.

The birth of a child did not force Levan to legalize his relationship with his common-law wife. And after her death, when a memorial obelisk was erected at the Nikolo-Arkhangelsk cemetery in Balashikha, where Katya was buried, he did not even appear at the ceremony.

According to Elena Bader, a close friend of the late Katya’s family, she was always a support for her loved ones, but she herself could not find a reliable male shoulder to lean on. Katya loved her daughter very much and tried to devote every free minute to her. But concerts and tours took up too much time, the singer did not stop performing almost until the birth, and only a few weeks after Lera’s birth she returned to the stage.

Valeria, who lost her mother at the age of 6, recorded the song “Veterok”, dedicated to her memory, at the age of 11. Recently, the girl began a solo career under the pseudonym Lera Ogonyok. In the photo, Lera looks very much like her mother in her youth. The latest news about the aspiring singer, who is supported by Elena Bader and Lyudmila Sharonova: her song “Chamomile” was released in September 2017.

It’s interesting that Katya herself jokingly called her little daughter Lera Fitilek. Here are some more interesting facts from the singer’s life:

• The first professional recording of songs was made by 14-year-old Christina with the assistance of her father. Alexander Kalyanov heard a chanson performed by a teenage girl, and it was he who recommended Christina’s parents to take up their daughter’s vocal career;
• 16-year-old Christina’s debut on the stage was a performance in a duet with Zhenya Belousov;
• one of Katya Ogonyok’s albums was included in the “Legends of Russian Chanson” series;
• the popular performer never received excess income, but always provided financial support to those in need. In particular, she helped children from orphanages and prisoners;
• Katya always preferred light dry wine as a drink, and rumors attributed her to alcohol and drug abuse; many called cirrhosis the cause of the singer’s death.

Death of Katya Ogonyok

On October 24, 2007, fans of Katya Ogonyok were shocked: this day was the last in the singer’s short biography. Everyone was interested in the reasons for the death of the 30-year-old queen of chanson; numerous comments from grieving listeners appeared under her photos and videos online.

She died of cardiac arrest. Before this, she spent 6 days in intensive care, where she was admitted after an attack of epilepsy, which she had suffered since childhood.

Relatives explain Katya’s early death due to her busy work schedule and the fact that she took everything to heart and kept it to herself, never cried or complained.

At the grave of Katya Ogonyok, a monument with a full-length photo appeared only 3 years after the funeral. Many fans gathered at its opening ceremony.

Kristina Penkhasova-Pozharskaya lived only 30 years. The life of her stage image, Katya Ogonyok, turned out to be even shorter, a person with a fictional biography who in 9 years managed to become a legend; fans are still discussing the circumstances of her life and the causes of death, remembering the singer, looking at her photo and listening to songs.

Katya Ogonyok is one of the most famous women performing chanson. She was loved and still loved by a huge number of listeners, because this woman was not only a talented singer, but also simply a good and kind person with whom you could have a heart-to-heart talk and discuss all your problems and successes.

Youth of Katya Ogonyok

Katya Ogonyok (her biography is short, but interesting and bright) was born on May 17, 1977 in the village of Dzhubga. Her real name is Penkhasova Kristina Evgenievna. The singer's mother was a dancer, and her father was a musician. The girl graduated from 9 classes, after which she began to study at music and choreographic schools in the city of Kislovodsk.

Christina's father was friends with a songwriter who was very famous and popular at that time. This is Alexander Shaganov. One day, Evgeny Semyonovich persuaded his friend to write a song for his talented daughter. Over time, little Christina already recorded an album. It should be noted that at that time the voice of the aspiring performer was still childish and not smoky. Unfortunately, this album was not needed by anyone, but Katya Ogonyok’s experience in this matter did not hinder her.

A bright personality, whose life was full of adventures, but ended very early, was Katya Ogonyok. The woman's biography is quite interesting. She tells how the singer’s creative career began, what events she had to endure, and why the life of the famous singer was cut short so early.

Moving to Moscow

At the age of 16, Katya Ogonyok moved to Moscow and began performing songs in the pop music genre. For a short time, the singer worked in a group called “Lesopoval”, but due to unsettled relations with the team, the lead singer was forced to leave the group.

In 1995, Katya Ogonyok took part in a project that announced a recruitment of chanson performers. The future singer won the competition, after which she began performing in the project. It was after participating in it that Katya began performing songs in this genre, touring a lot, and gained popularity and fame. At first, the singer chose the pseudonym Masha Sha, but later changed it to the well-known Katya Ogonyok.

The performer, whose voice is familiar to almost every fan of the genre, is Katya Ogonyok. The biography of a celebrity will help every fan of her work learn about how the singer lived her life, what events happened in her, how she came on stage and any other questions that interest him.

Masha Sha

When the singer sang under the pseudonym Masha Sha, her songs were distinguished by their emphasis on sexual themes. Almost all of her compositions contained erotic humor, but it is worth saying that in 1988 Katya decided to change her pseudonym and stopped performing such songs.

The fiery actress, whose songs touch every listener, is still the same Katya Ogonyok. Biography, photos, significant events, etc. have always been and are still of interest to fans of the young woman’s work. It must be said that she deserved such attention, because Katya Ogonyok was truly talented.

The singer's criminal past

Katya's popularity grew at breakneck speed, every year she became more and more popular and well-known not only among ordinary listeners and fans, but also among her colleagues. It is worth saying that in some of her interviews Katya Ogonyok spoke about “places of deprivation of liberty.” The chanson performer did not like to talk about these topics, but said that she was convicted under Article 211, part 1, but later she was convicted under article 3. Ogonyok says that there is absolutely nothing scary in this article. An unpleasant story happened in her life, which was connected with a car. Katya spent 2 years in prison, after which she was granted an amnesty. As the singer herself says: “This happened, most likely, not because of good behavior, but because of good singing.” However, as it turned out later, it was just a legend, which is so necessary for every performer of this genre.

Throughout her short life, Katya Ogonyok performed music in the chanson genre. The woman’s biography will help every fan of her work understand how the singer became so famous and popular, what events happened in her life.

Famous singer Katya Ogonyok: biography, death

It is worth saying that Katya’s life was quite bright, emotional, but, unfortunately, short-lived. The famous chanson performer died at the age of 30, on October 24, 2007. Her death became a tragedy not only for Katya’s family and friends, but also for lovers of the work of the cheerful and beloved singer.

Katya Ogonyok: biography, cause of death of the singer

The public's favorite died due to pulmonary edema, which was caused by heart failure. According to another version, the famous singer suffered from epilepsy since childhood and was hospitalized after another attack. The woman’s producer said that Katya spent 5 days in the hospital and was recovering. However, unfortunately, the disease turned out to be stronger than her.

The singer has a daughter, Valeria, who is already taking her first steps on stage. She, like her mother, also dreams of singing and has already recorded several compositions in the chanson style. Among them there is a song dedicated to my beloved mother...