Born on February 10, 1961 in Penza.
This extravagant, sometimes shocking, but never indifferent person first appeared before a wide audience at the Oktyabr Concert Hall in 1990.
Naturally excellent vocal abilities, diligence, and determination allowed the provincial from Penza to conquer first Moscow and then Russia.
And first there was a children's church choir, a Penza cultural education school and, finally, Gnesinka, which did not accept him with amazing tenacity for ten years in a row.
On his eleventh attempt (that’s the name of the film about Sergei Penkin, directed by I. Klebanov), it was from this that a new stage in the singer’s life began: the Gnessin School finally opened its gates for him.
His concert is a real performance, where the singer appears in the most unexpected images. In addition to bright vocal abilities important role Costumes play a role in the creation of stage images, the development of which is given great attention.
The singer’s audience is also special: how often do you see women and men in evening suits at concerts?! Sergei treats the people who come to his performances with respect and gratitude, calling them “my intelligent Penkin audience.”
The song repertoire is huge and very diverse. At the concerts, works of Russian and foreign classics, folk songs in modern arrangements, popular foreign pop songs, works of domestic composers, including their own, are performed.
The first television broadcasts of the singer’s performances took place on the then first commercial channel “2x2” - the song “Feelings” was performed, which still serves as his calling card.
In 1992, at the Rossiya concert hall, the presentation of the first CD “Holyday” and a large concert took place, then broadcast on four channels of central television, after which active touring activities began, which have successfully continued to this day.
The singer visited almost all major cities of Russia and its neighboring countries. In addition, he has repeatedly given concerts in Italy, Canada, Israel, Germany, the USA, Slovakia, Turkey, Venezuela, etc.
We present to your attention the “Mr. Extravagance” of Russian show business - Sergei Mikhailovich Penkin. He was nicknamed the “old-timer” of the scene. Indeed, despite his age, Sergei Penkin is still popular and stays afloat.
Singer, songwriter, composer and film actor, Sergei Penkin became famous for his unique voice, which spans four octaves. Note that it is included in the Guinness Book of Records. The artist has incredible charisma and natural artistry. His career is not a quick rise up. He walked towards his success gradually, overcoming many obstacles along the way.
Sergei Penki is a popular artist. He became famous not only in his homeland, but also in other countries of Europe and abroad. He has quite a lot of fans and admirers of his creativity. The artist’s biography is rich and interesting.
Many fans are interested in maximum information about their idol, the latest news about him, as well as his physical data, including his height, weight, age. How old was Sergei Penkin in 2018? The question is not difficult. Knowing the artist’s date of birth, we calculate that Sergei Penkin has lived for 57 years. Photos from his youth and now show how the artist has changed throughout his time on stage.
Sergei Penkin is quite a tall man. The artist's height is 175 centimeters. It weighs no more than 78 kilograms. According to his zodiac sign, Sergei Penkin belongs to the sensual and creative Aquarius, according to eastern calendar– hardworking and stubborn Ox.
Biography and personal life of Sergei Penkin
Sergei Penkin began his life's journey in the city of Penza. February 10, 1961 is the artist’s birthday. His father is Mikhail Pavlovich Penkin, a driver at railway, WWII veteran. Mother - Antonina Nikolaevna Penkina, served in the church. Their family had many children. Besides him there were also his brother Vladimir, as well as sister Valentina and sister Raisa.
The mother raised her children with an emphasis on spirituality. Artist Sergei Penkin often visited the temple and sang in the church choir. He even had a dream of becoming a clergyman, but he soon changed his mind.
In his hometown, the artist graduated from a music school and a music college. After serving, he moved to Moscow, where, before entering university, he swept yards for a time. In 1986, for the eleventh time, he nevertheless became a student at the Musical Pedagogical Institute. Gnesins. While studying, he earned money by singing in a restaurant. In the same year, Sergei Penkin met Viktor Tsoi. A little later, they successfully performed together.
Also, even before graduating from university, Sergei Penkin releases his first solo album, “Holiday”. This happened in 1991. This is how the artist’s creative career began. Thanks to his unique voice, he was invited to concerts in foreign countries.
Sergei Penkin became famous for his extravagance. He designed his costumes, of which there are about 2,500 thousand pieces, himself. His appearance always amazed and surprised the audience. All the artist’s performances turned into bright shows. He was always interesting to watch.
As a film actor, Sergei Penkin starred in a small number of films. The debut took place in 1988 in the drama “Publication” by V. Volkov. There he played a cameo inconspicuous role. It is worth noting that two documentaries have been made about the artist.
Now Sergei Penkin devotes more and more time to his creativity. He continues to tour not only in Russia.
Sergei Penkin considers the vocal school he created to be a special pride and priority. Here he tries to pass on his accumulated experience in the musical and stage spheres to the younger generation. He also serves as a mentor to many upcoming artists.
The biography and personal life of Sergei Penkin, as we see, is full of bright events. There were problems and obstacles along his creative path, but he was able to overcome them, thereby winning public recognition and making a successful career.
Family and children of Sergei Penkin
There are a lot of rumors about the artist, especially about his personal life. The family and children of Sergei Penkin are the most discussed topic in the media. The fact is that the artist is classified as a gay person. Constant questions about this matter greatly offend the singer, so he closed his personal life from the press.
Sergei Penkin was married once. Has no children. By the way, the artist’s biggest regret is that he did not become a father. He gave and continues to give his all to the stage and creativity. He has a busy schedule. Most likely, this is why he did not fully experience family happiness.
The ex-wife of Sergei Penkin - Elena Protsenko
Sergei Penkin met his first wife in London, during his first tour. It was an English journalist, but of Russian origin - Elena Protsenko. She is 12 years younger than him.
They dated for a long time, and their meetings were rare. In 2000, the couple officially registered their relationship, but they never became a full-fledged family. Ex-wife Sergei Penkin - Elena Protsenko did not agree to move, and the couple lived separately, in different countries. Their marriage lasted only two years. In 2002, the family broke up.
Sergei Penkin’s wife – Vladlena Ponomarenko
After breaking up with his first wife, Sergei Penkin for quite a long time could not decide to create a new relationship. But 2015 made adjustments to the artist’s personal life. Then he met the presenter of Odessa television, Vladlena Ponomarenko. At that time she was about forty years old. She has two daughters from a previous marriage. The artist has established relationships with the girls; they are friendly.
Sergei Penkin’s wife is Vladlena Ponomarenko, the artist’s common-law wife. Perhaps, soon, the singer will decide to propose to her and find a family again.
Instagram and Wikipedia of Sergei Penkin
As mentioned earlier, the artist has a huge number of fans. Instagram and Wikipedia of Sergei Penkin make it possible to find out as much information as possible about the artist.
Sergey Penkin is registered on Instagram, but he does not update his page very often. The artist’s Facebook is another matter – posters, schedules, concert programs, etc. are often posted here.
Sergei Penkin's Wikipedia is a treasure trove of information about the artist. Here is his biography, creative path, plans, discography, filmography, awards, as well as other details and events from the artist’s life.
Personal life of Sergei Penkin is not exposed to them, and therefore causes a lot of rumors and conversations. The singer openly says that he has always dreamed of a child, and it should be a baby born not as a result of surrogacy, but naturally. But in Sergei Penkin’s personal life there is not yet a woman with whom he would like to start a family and have a child. However, the singer still has experience of family life. In 2000, he married an American journalist of Russian origin, Elena Protsenko, whom he had known for more than ten years. They met in London and for a long time met only occasionally, but then decided to legalize the relationship.
In the photo - Sergey Penkin
Elena Protsenko is twelve years younger than Penkin, but this did not become an obstacle for them. After living with his wife for two years, the singer separated, and since then there have been no more novels or marriages in Sergei Penkin’s personal life, at least nothing is known about it. Although the artist is always open and ready to communicate with journalists, he does not bring all the details of his personal life to public discussion. When he is asked why he has not yet started a family, Sergei Penkin answers that he is not a home person and his main life is spent on tours. He sees the reason for the divorce from Elena Protsenko as the fact that she needed home comfort and children - a full-fledged family, which was impossible to create with the singer, for whom his work is most important.
The artist very much regrets that he does not have children, but does not lose hope of meeting a woman who will make his dream come true. According to him, this woman should also be a creative person who can best understand and accept the life of an artist. He calmly treats rumors about his homosexuality, because he has long been accustomed to the fact that many are ready to judge a person only by his manner of dressing. So far, the personal life of Sergei Penkin is a stage, the path to which could not be called easy.
After graduating from Gnesinka, which he entered only for the eleventh time, he immediately gave a big concert at the Moscow Variety Theater, and earlier Sergei had already released his debut album and gave his first concert in the Oktyabrsky concert hall.
Sergei Mikhailovich Penkin was born in February 1961 in Penza, in large family, where, in addition to the boy, four more children were growing up - three daughters and the eldest son. The family lived modestly. My father worked as a train driver, and my mother, a housewife, cleaned the church. She was one of the “noble”: the roots of the family went back to the old dynasty of the Dolinins, Penza nobles. The woman was deeply religious and taught this to her children.
Sergei Penkin sang in a church choir and at one time even decided that he would become a priest. But at the last moment he changed his mind about entering the theological academy and chose secular life.
During his school years, Penkin received a musical education. The young man learned to play the flute and enjoyed attending the music club of the local Pioneer House. After graduating from school, Sergei entered the Penza Cultural and Educational School. To make ends meet and help his family, he sang in restaurants and discos in the evenings.
After receiving his diploma, Penkin went into the army. Sergei expressed a desire to serve in Afghanistan, but the command sent the young man to the Scarlet Chevron military ensemble, where he became a vocalist.
Sergei Penkin met the beginning of the 1980s in the capital. The young man dreamed of singing and conquering Moscow. But the path to the goal turned out to be long and thorny. The Penza guy got a job as a janitor and for 10 years made unsuccessful attempts to enter Gnesinka. Sergei managed to take this fortress only on the 11th approach.
Music
The creative biography of Sergei Penkin in the capital began with performances in restaurants. During the day, the singer swept yards, and in the evening, dressed in an outfit with a million sequins, he performed in the restaurant of the Cosmos Hotel. Apparently, these performances were bright and unusual, because soon tables in “Lunny” - that was the name of the restaurant - began to be booked 3 months in advance: the public wanted to see the eccentric singer.
Having entered Gnesinka, Penkin did not leave the restaurant. Moreover, he began touring abroad as part of the Lunar Variety Show.
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In 1986, Sergei met the cult rocker Viktor Tsoi. The musicians became friends. Tsoi invited Penkin to perform at a joint concert. Despite the fact that the performers' audience was diametrically opposed, the performance was successful. The collaboration continued until Viktor Tsoi died in an accident.
In 1992, when Sergei Penkin received a diploma from the Gnessin Music and Pedagogical University in vocal class, he already had a debut album “Holiday” in his singing portfolio. Moreover, the performer with unique vocals was already known far beyond the borders of the USSR. Penkin regularly received invitations to perform at concerts in London, New York and Paris.
Every performance of Sergei turned into a real show. The soulful performance of Russian folk songs in original modern arrangements and concert costumes of all the colors of the rainbow (and there were 2.5 thousand such costumes, according to Penkin) aroused burning interest in the singer, who was unlike anyone else. But before the collapse Soviet Union At home, only visitors to restaurants and variety shows knew about the artist. Penkin was not invited to concerts of popular performers. And the singer was barred from entering television.
But after the collapse of the Union the situation changed. In 1992, television viewers saw and heard Sergei Penkin, first on a commercial channel, and then on others. The singer’s video for the song “Feelings” was played often. Penkin began to be invited to concerts and television.
In the mid-1990s, Sergei Penkin made his first tour across the country, calling the tour “The Conquest of Russia.” Germany, Australia, Israel - the geography of the tour quickly expanded.
The singer was the first of his compatriots to perform at the legendary New York Billboard hall. In London, the artist sang at the same concert with Peter Gabriel and even made it to the Eurovision final. At that time, Penkin already had 5 albums and work in 3 films.
In the 2000s, Sergei Mikhailovich gave concerts in Moscow, accompanied by the Silantyev Orchestra, and celebrated his 45th birthday in the Rossiya Concert Hall. The singer fulfilled his youthful dream of conquering the capital. The artist regularly delighted fans with new albums and author’s collections: “Feelings”, “Love Story”, “Jazz Bird”, “Don’t Forget!”, “I Can’t Forget You”. In 2011, he released a disc called “Duets”, which included songs performed together with Lolita Milyavskaya, Irina Allegrova, Anna Veski, Boris Moiseev, Ani Lorak.
The singer’s discography includes 25 albums, the last of which, “Music,” Sergei released in 2016. Fans got the opportunity to hear new songs and their favorites musical compositions in an updated arrangement.
Two documentaries have been released about the life and work of Sergei Penkin. The artist has repeatedly participated in the dubbing of cartoons (“New Bremen”, “Frozen”), and starred in television films (“My Fair Nanny”, “The Wayfarers”, “Doomed to Be a Star”). The vocalist's voice is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
Personal life
The performer's colorful outfits and bright makeup often became the reason for conversations in the media about the singer's gay orientation. Sergei was offended by such assumptions and angry at attempts to invade his privacy.
During his first tour to London, Penkin met an English journalist who had Russian roots. In 2000, the young couple got married, but living together it didn't work out. The marriage lasted two years. Sergei lived in Russia, in a country mansion built according to his own designs, and his wife Lena did not want to leave Britain.
According to Sergei Penkin, he remains a believer. The singer was going to marry his chosen one, but it never came to that. Lena couldn’t stand living in two countries and Sergei’s busy touring schedule. The couple broke up.
Penkin did a lot for his hometown. In Penza he erected a church and a chapel in the cemetery where his parents and older brother were buried. Sergei Mikhailovich loves to visit the city of his childhood, where the musician’s sisters are always waiting for him.
In 2015, Sergei Penkin’s personal life was again on the front pages of the tabloids. They started talking about the musician’s affair with 40-year-old Odessa resident Vladlena, the host of a local TV channel. The singer established relationships with the two daughters of his beloved woman from his first marriage. The couple visited Paris, where, according to rumors, Sergei even proposed to his chosen one.
But the wedding did not take place. Due to emotional distress, Sergei Penkin lost 28 kilograms, which he talked about in an interview. Nevertheless, the singer believes in fate and expects to meet his soulmate.
Sergey Penkin now
Sergei Penkin practically does not appear at social events, devoting all his time to creativity. In 2016, the artist celebrated his 55th anniversary with a concert on the stage of Crocus City Hall.
The singer regularly goes on tours in Russian cities and visits London and Israel. Penkin invariably attracts full houses at his performances. The artist’s latest concert program was called “Music Therapy.” On stage, the artist created an enchanting 3D mapping show, where each song is accompanied by its own video art, lighting effects and dynamic scenographic designs.
The concert consists of three parts, the first of which takes the audience and singer to the Garden of Eden, the second to foggy London, and the third part takes place on the stage of an ancient Greek amphitheater. Sergei Penkin performs one of the songs inside a giant aquarium.
Sergei Penkin considers his own pride to be the vocal school he created in 2015. A singer with unique voice abilities and rich stage experience, Sergei Penkin has a lot to teach the younger generation. Every year the school organizes a reporting concert. In November 2017, the event was hosted by a participant in the TV show “The Voice” Artem Katorgin.
In the fall, Sergei Penkin participated in the recording of the musical accompaniment for the Disney animated film “Olaf and the Cold Adventure” together with Natalia Bystrova, Anna Buturlina and Andrei Birin. The artist also performed at the Jewelry Fashion Week in Moscow, Estet Fashion Week 2017, which took place in mid-November. At the gala event, Sergei Penkin performed the compositions “Autumn Rain” and “Heart into Pieces.”
In addition to announcing upcoming events on his personal official website, the singer posts news and latest photos on social network VKontakte and Instagram. Sergei differs from many of his colleagues in that he always sings only live and openly expresses a negative opinion about modern Russian show business.
Penkin is the bestElena 10.12.2010 02:21:00
Maybe now they will clog up television less with Kirkorov and show more real talent - Sergei Penkin
56-year-old Sergei Penkin rarely shares details of his personal life. Recently, the artist made an exception and gave a frank interview to journalists, in which he spoke about failures in his personal life and admitted why he did not have a wife and children.
It is known that in the early 2000s, Penkin was married to an English journalist of Russian origin, Elena Protsenko. Their relationship began back in the 90s, when she came to Moscow for work. It was then that Elena and Sergei met. The couple's marital happiness did not last long. The couple lived together only for a couple of years. As it turned out, before legalizing his relationship with Protsenko, the artist was married to a foreigner. Sergei did not specify whether it was civilian or registered.
“This was my second wife, and the first was generally a purebred Englishwoman. As for Elena Protsenko, she invited me to move to England. And I said that I want to continue my career here. Because abroad we are still second-class citizens,” Penkin shared in the “Oh, Mommies!” program.
// Photo: frame from the program “Oh, Mommies!”
Now the pop star lives in a luxurious house. Sergei admitted that he does not feel lonely. The singer has a maid and security, and his relatives – his niece and sisters – also constantly come to visit him. He has not yet met the only one to whom the performer would like to propose. Penkin complained that many women fall in love with him not as a person, but as an artist.
“When I got burned a few years ago, I was very disappointed. And now I need a woman who would love me not as an artist, but as a person. And this is very difficult now, because everyone immediately looks at you as an artist. They write me a lot of letters... In general, I don’t even know what to tell you,” the performer shared.
According to Penkin, he is more impressed by those women who achieve everything themselves, rather than looking for a rich patron. The artist cited synchronized swimmers as an example. Sergei admired the character of the athletes who make considerable efforts to achieve success.
The celebrity has no children yet. Sergei Penkin rules out that he will use the services of a surrogate mother, as many of his colleagues in show business do. When asked whether he dreams of heirs, the artist answered negatively.
“Sometimes children are such that you think: “Lord, it would be better if you didn’t have them at all!” Especially when children begin to win apartments, money, wait until you die to take advantage of your money... In general, I again don’t know what to tell you...” said Sergei.
Penkin also commented on Valeria’s words that he is a representative of non-traditional sexual orientation. Several years ago, the artist’s statement in an interview with the BBC caused a serious scandal. “She did something ugly. She is as cold in life as she is on stage,” said Sergei.