Maksim Galkin

Maxim Alexandrovich Galkin was born on 18 june 1976 in Naro-Fominsky District Moscow Oblast.

He first became famous as an impersonator and is known for his talent at parody and his duets with the famous Russian pop singerAlla Pugacheva and Ani Lorak.

Galkin was also the host of the Russian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? after it was renamed from O, Schastlivchik(Oh, Lucky Man) and to 2008. He currently hosts the Russian adaptation of The Million Pound Drop.

During his University years Galkin appeared in KVN, the Russian youth stand-up comedy competition, which kickstarted his career. Recently, he acted as a judge on the show.

Galkin and Pugacheva are hosts of a Russian TV show similar to But Can They Sing?, Dve Zvezdy (Two Stars). Pairs made up of a professional singer and a celebrity compete for the honour of being named Two Stars. Famous alumnae include the singersZhasmin, Alsou and Nastya Kamenskikh.

Maksim had a very classical and strict upbringing. His mother was a teacher, and he finished music and math school, and knows four languages, Russian, English, German and French. He is a gradúate of the Russian State University of the Humanities.

Galkin is one of the few comedians currently performing an impression, albeit 'light-hearted', of President Vladimir Putin, notoriously sensitive to humorous depictions of himself, on Russia's Channel One TV channel.