Actress, Director. The wife of pioneer Soviet filmaker Lev Kuleshov, she was a key collaborator on all his important films. Born Alexandra Sergeyevna Botkin in Berlin, Germany, into a distinguished Russian family, she made her performing debut in 1916 and was briefly married to Moscow Art Theatre actor Konstantin Khokhlov. In 1919 she joined Kuleshov’s workshop at the newly-founded State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) and the two became inseperable, marrying sometime before her graduation in 1923. A capable actress with unconventional but highly expressive features, Khokhlova played the female leads in Kuleshov’s films “The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks” (1924), “The Death Ray” (1925), and the classic “By the Law” (1926), a personal best for both. She also assisted him in direction and screenwriting and received co-director credit for “Sasha” (1930), “Descent in a Volcano” (1941), and “We from the Urals” (1943). Her other films include “The Great Consoler” (1933), “R.U.R.” (1935), “Siberians” (1940), “The Immortal Garrison” (1956), and “Birches in the Steppe” (1957). An instructor at the VGIK from 1923, Khokhlova became a professor in 1939 and taught directing there for decades. Interestingly, she was named People’s Artist of the RSFSR in 1935, 34 years before her husband was accorded the same honor. After Kuleshov’s death in 1970 she continued to teach and promote his legacy. (bio by: Bobb Edwards)  Family links:  Spouse:  Lev Kuleshov (1899 – 1970)