Anna Laevski Rastsvetaeva (Russian: Анна Лаевская Расцветаева) (born January 10, 1982), better known as Ana Layevska, is a Russian-Mexican actress.

Early life

Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Ana is the only child of Russian parents, Sergei Laevski and Inna Rastsvetaeva. Ana and her family moved to Mexico when she was nine years old. She started playing violin when she was five and started acting upon moving to Mexico.

Career

In Mexico Ana studied acting in the Centro de Educación Artística of Televisa. Thanks to her skills she obtained some roles in novelas such as Preciosa (1998) and Amor Gitano (1999), acting with Mauricio Islas and Mariana Seoane. Those were relatively small roles but they were good experience as well.

Eventually, producer Pedro Damián called her to participate in telenovelas Primer amor... a mil por hora (2000), in which she shared credits with Kuno Becker, Mauricio Islas, Valentino Lanús and Anahí. She won the TVyNovelas Award for best female revelation, as well as the Palmas de Oro prize in the same category.

In 2001, she starred in her first film, In the Time of the Butterflies, where she had the opportunity of acting with Salma Hayek and Edward James Olmos. In 2005, she participated in the reality TV show Bailando Por Un Sueño, where celebrities are paired with contestants in a dance-based competition. Despite being unpopular with the judges, she was saved from eviction three times by public telephone voting, eventually placing third overall.

Her most recent appearance is in the hit telenovela El Fantasma de Elena as Elena Calcaño from Telemundo Studios. She will be taking her second Main Villain role in Telemundo's Mi Corazón Insiste along side of Jencarlos Canela, Carmen Villalobos, and Angelica Maria.

Other than acting, Layevska also sings and plays two instruments: violin and piano. When she was younger, she took classes in classical music.

She is fluent in Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish and English.She stands at 5' 6½".

Telenovelas

* 2011: Mi Corazón Insiste… en Lola Volcán as Débora Noriega de Santacruz, main villain
* 2010: El Fantasma de Elena as Elena/Daniela Calcano, main villain
* 2009: Mujeres Asesinas as Marcela Rodriguez victim
* 2009: Verano de Amor as Valeria, special guest
* 2008: Querida Enemiga as Lorena Armendariz de Mendiola, main protagonist
* 2006: Las Dos Caras de Ana as Ana Escudero/Marcia Lazcano, main protagonist
* 2005: La Madrastra as Estrella San Román, villain, later good
* 2003: Clap...El lugar de tus sueños as Valentina
* 2001: El juego de la vida as Paulina de la Mora
* 2001: Mujer, casos de la vida real as Adela
* 2002: Primer Amor... Tres Años Después as Marina Iturriaga Camargo
* 2000: Primer amor... a mil por hora as Marina Iturriaga Camargo
* 1999: Amor Gitano as Maria

Filmography

* 2009: Me Importas tu... y tu
* 2009: The Fighter (2009) as Helen
* 2009: El Que Habita Las Alturas as Teresa
* 2008: Casi Divas as Ximena
* 2006: Cansada de Besar Sapos as Andi
* 2004: Genisis 3:19 as Lisa
* 2001: In the Time of the Butterflies as Lina Lovaton

Reality TV Series

* 2005: Bailando Por Un Sueño as herself