Many people are familiar with Natalya Eprikyan’s on-screen persona, but few realize the immense amount of work and life experience that went into it all. She went from participating in the student comedy show KVN to creating the CIS’s leading women’s variety show, and today she draws full houses as a stage actress. For readers who want to learn more about her, we’ve compiled the most interesting and little-known facts from her biography.
Natalia Eprikyan: Who She Is and What She’s Known For
Natalia Eprikyan is a Russian comedy actress, TV host, and producer. She is best known as the creator and longtime host of *Comedy Woman*. Many are familiar with her on-stage persona—Natalya Andreevna, an authoritative and ironic character with her trademark cold stare. But off-camera, the actress is completely different. In real life, she is a sociable and calm person who loves her work. Her colleagues know her as a talented artist and a good leader, capable of assembling a professional team around her.
Eprikyan was one of the key figures in the comedy industry from 2000 to 2010. Before the Comedy era, she was a member of the KVN team “Metropolis,” which won the Premier League and the Higher League championships. It was her time at KVN that helped her understand the inner workings of show business and later launch her own major project.
Early Years and Background
The future star of the comedy scene grew up in a creative, lively, and multicultural environment. Her colorful childhood in the Caucasus, family traditions, and unique surroundings laid the foundation for her vibrant personality and subtle sense of humor. Self-deprecating humor and an ability to spot the funny in simple, everyday things helped Natalya feel confident in front of an audience and, later on, write scripts for television shows.
Born in Tbilisi with Armenian Roots
Natalia Eprikyan, whose life story is closely tied to both Georgia and Armenia, was born on April 19, 1978, in Tbilisi to a family of Georgian Armenians. She is Armenian by ethnicity and is fluent in her native language.
Life in an international city, where different cultures, languages, and traditions were closely intertwined, had a strong influence on the future artist’s character. According to Natalia’s recollections, humor was always a part of everyday life in Tbilisi. From an early age, she was surrounded by good-natured jokes and cheerful gatherings with friends, where everyone strove to show off their artistic side.
Family and Childhood
Natalia’s parents were far removed from show business. Both worked as mathematical engineers. They instilled a love for the exact sciences in their children—their daughter and their younger son, Garik. In Tbilisi, the girl graduated from a prestigious physics and mathematics high school, which today might seem like a rather unexpected start for a future comedian. But in addition to the exact sciences, Natasha studied music theory, and later her parents enrolled her in ballet classes as well. Incidentally, Natasha’s brother also ended up choosing a creative path—he became a musician.
Interestingly, her father played on a KVN team during his student years at the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute. So a sense of humor and acting talent were passed down to her.
Education and the Move to Moscow
The early 1990s turned the future artist’s life upside down. When Natalia was 14, due to the difficult economic and political situation in Georgia, the family left Tbilisi and moved to Moscow. For a teenage girl, moving to another country was a challenge, but at the same time, it opened up new opportunities and a path into show business. Of course, all that would come a little later. In the meantime, after graduating from high school in Moscow, Natalya decided to follow in her parents’ footsteps and chose a field of study that was by no means creative.
Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
In Moscow, Natalya Eprikyan enrolled at the Russian University of Economics (Plekhanov Academy), choosing to study mathematical economics. Thanks to her analytical mind, her studies came easily to her. But she soon grew tired of spending her days dealing only with formulas and graphs.
In search of a hobby, Natalya became involved in the student KVN competition. In those years, teams from various universities shone on the KVN stage, including the legendary RUDN team, which the Plekhanov students often faced in competitions. Paradoxically, it was at this serious economics university that Natalya realized her true calling was coming up with jokes and writing scripts.
The Beginning of Her KVN Career
The Club of the Cheerful and Resourceful became for Natalia the very launching pad where she underwent rigorous creative training. There, she learned not to be afraid of the stage and to react instantly to the audience’s response. These skills later served her well in her career as a professional comedian and theater actress.
At first, she performed with the “New Armenians” team, and in 2004 she joined the “Metropolis” group, where she began to fully showcase her talent. That same year, the team became the KVN Premier League champion, and by 2005, Eprikyan, as part of “Metropolis,” celebrated victory in the Higher League.
Audiences quickly took a liking to the young comedian, who charmed the audience with her sparkling jokes, acting talent, and petite stature—just 152 cm. This physical trait of the actress was often played up both in KVN skits and later on the Comedy stage.
The “Women’s Team”
While enjoying her success with “Megapolis,” Natalya simultaneously began to mull over the idea of creating a women’s team—a troupe consisting exclusively of women. According to Eprikyan’s vision, the humor of such a group should also be distinct—subtle, intellectual, with a touch of irony, and, most importantly, not limited to banal everyday topics. This idea served as the foundation for Natalya’s flagship television project—*Comedy Woman*.
Breakthrough: Comedy Woman on TNT
After KVN, Natalya Eprikyan—whose career in the comedy industry began to take off rapidly—decided to make her dream a reality: creating a unique entertainment TV project aimed at a female audience, featuring an all-female cast.
To bring her vision to life, she had to do a lot: from casting actresses with unique personalities to writing hundreds of pages of script. But her efforts ultimately paid off in full.
The Show’s Creation in 2008
Today, few people remember that the popular TV show *Comedy Woman* began in a different format and even under a different name. First, in 2006, Natalya Eprikyan launched the cabaret show *Made in Woman*, which featured well-known female comedians. Among the first participants were Ekaterina Varnava, Maria Kravchenko, Tatiana Morozova, Natalia Medvedeva, Polina Sibatullina, and Elena Borshcheva, who performed under the stage name Elena Khulievna Santa-Maria Guerra. Later, Marina Fedunkiv, Marina Kravets, and other popular female comedians joined the group.
The project proved so successful that the group, in various lineups, toured for two years with concert programs at various Moscow clubs. And on November 21, 2008, “Made in Woman” made the transition to television—the first episode of the entertainment show, featuring a new lineup of cast members, aired on the Russian channel TNT. After several months of experimentation, the lineup and the performers’ personas underwent another transformation, and as a result, on March 9, 2009, the next episode of Natalya Eprikyan’s women’s entertainment show aired, now under the title Comedy Woman. The project continued in this format until February 2020, when the decision was made to cancel the TV show.
Style and Genre: Sketch Show and Comedy
In her projects, Natalya Eprikyan focused on topics that had previously rarely been associated with women’s comedy programs. Instead of the usual jokes about shopping, children, men, and everyday life, the writers incorporated elements of social satire and dark humor from one episode to the next, taking some familiar real-life situations to the point of absurdity. Each performance turned into a full-fledged costumed sketch show, staged each time as a separate theatrical scene with its own set design.
The storylines of many of the comedy sketches, conceived by Natalya Eprikyan, revolve around the contrast between various recognizable characters and archetypes. Among them are glamorous beauties, intellectual eccentrics, straightforward girls from the provinces, and strict female bosses. This approach made the acts entertaining and accessible to a wide variety of audiences.
The well-thought-out musical arrangement was also an important part of this stage atmosphere. Ironic vocal numbers, emotional final musical numbers, and songs written specifically for Natalya Eprikyan’s distinct characters perfectly complemented the comedic dialogue, making the show even more dynamic.
Most Famous Projects and Roles
Natalia Eprikyan’s career and creative work are closely tied to television, where she showcases her talents both as an actress and as a behind-the-scenes professional.
Comedy Woman
So far, this project remains the highlight of Natalia’s career. Over the course of more than 10 years, nine full seasons of *Comedy Woman* have been filmed. On this show, Eprikyan fulfilled three key roles at once. As a producer, she developed the concept, handled the casting of actresses, and organized the filming process. As the head of the writing team, she coordinated the writing of scripts and skits. But to the show’s viewers, Eprikyan is known first and foremost as an actress—for her role as the colorful Natalia Andreevna.
At one point, she was involved in the creation of the CIS-wide hit series “Univer,” for which she wrote dialogue and even appeared in one of the episodes. She also tried her hand at hosting on the NTV channel.
Natalia Eprikyan’s Personal Life
For many years, the actress has adhered to the rule of keeping her work and private life separate. Because of this discretion, Natalya Eprikyan’s personal life has always been surrounded by numerous rumors and speculation. At one time, she was rumored to have had romances with colleagues from KVN and the set of *Comedy Woman*. Natalia herself never comments on such rumors, preferring to speak with the press and fans primarily about her creative work.
Family and Children
For Natalya Eprikyan, family means, first and foremost, her parents, who live in the Voronezh Region, and her younger brother Garik. As for her own family, according to public sources, the actress is not officially married and has no children.
Natalia Eprikyan Today
After her television projects came to an end, the actress began a new chapter in her career. What Natalya Eprikyan is doing now differs significantly from her previous work on TV. She has now shifted her focus primarily to independent international projects.
In recent years, the comedy star has been spending more time in her ancestral homeland—Yerevan. In Armenia, Natalya works as a producer and writes screenplays. But she hasn’t abandoned the stage either. It’s just that now, instead of television studios, she more often chooses the theater stage, touring Europe with other popular artists. The demand for live performances featuring Eprikyan is enormous—tickets for concerts in Germany and other countries sell out in a matter of days.
Interesting Facts About Natalya Eprikyan
Her stage name, Natalya Andreevna, came about by chance back in her KVN days. People often call her that in real life as well, although her actual name is Natalya Araikovna.
The actress is 152 cm tall and weighs 46 kg. She jokingly refers to herself as “an elite one and a half meters.”
Natalia Eprikyan’s zodiac sign is Aries.
“Personal life is personal precisely so that we don’t talk about it,” the actress often repeats in interviews.
As Natalya admitted, she never played with dolls as a child. Instead, she used to climb roofs and trees with her brothers.
Awards and Achievements
Among Natalya Eprikyan’s major professional achievements are:
the title of 2004 KVN Premier League champion;
the title of KVN Major League Champion in 2005;
the “Little KVN in the Light” award in 2005;
the creation of “Comedy Woman”—one of the most successful all-female comedy shows on Russian TV;
screenwriter for the TV series “Univer.”
Impact on the Comedy Genre
Natalia Eprikyan not only shattered the old stereotype that high-quality comedy and production are a man’s domain, but also set a new, higher standard for television sketch shows. At the same time, this actress’s influence has extended beyond television and cabaret shows. She sets the same high standard of excellence on the theater stage as well. Natalia performs in independent international theater companies, sharing the stage with popular Russian, Armenian, Georgian, and Ukrainian artists in Europe, including Germany and other countries.
Wherever Natalya Eprikyan performs—whether on the theater stage or on a TV show—her subtle humor, talent, and professionalism continue to draw full houses, giving audiences unforgettable experiences.
