Oksana Grigorieva

In 1989, Oksana married Russian lawyer Igor Baranov who shared her desire to live in the West. Unfortunately, the marriage lasted for just three months. While the Soviet Union was falling apart and the situation was becoming increasingly hard, Oksana moved to England to fulfill her dreams.

In 1992, she married British artist Nicholas Rowland, who was 19 years older to her. After two years, their marriage fell apart and they were divorced in 1994.

In 1995, she began a relationship with actor Timothy Dalton. They met while she was employed as a translator for filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov. Dalton, who was then in his 50s, invited her to live together at his homes in Chiswick, London, and in West Hollywood. Their son Alexander was born on August 7, 1997. However, the couple broke up in 2003.

She was born as Oksana Petrovna Chernuha on February 23, 1970, in Saransk, Mordovia, in Russia. Her father Petr Chernukha and mother Ludmila Grigorieva-Chernukha are both music professors. Her sister Natalie is 12 years younger to her. Her grandparents were honored for their courage in the World War II against the Nazis.

She grew up in Ukraine and Russia, and during the 1980s, she studied piano at a local school of music and also attended the Kazan conservatory in Russia. However, she did not graduate from the conservatory, and abruptly ended her studies after three years. She then moved to England where she continued studying piano at the Royal College of Music and Trinity College in London.

In England, Oksana did a number of jobs like cleaning, caring for the elderly, and waiting tables to support herself. She also taught piano to children. She gave free piano performances at different churches.

At a London restaurant, she came to the notice of the royal photographer Patrick Lichfield. Soon she was featured in various fashion magazines, which led to a modeling career.

In the UK, she worked under the name Sacha Chernuha before changing it to Oksana Grigorieva. She also began composing and performing music, and produced music for a few independent films and advertisements. She composed music for stage productions as well in collaboration with Gregory Peck and Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave.

She then moved to the US, and lived in New York City and Los Angeles. She started giving music lessons in the US, and patented a technique of teaching musical notation to children.

She recorded a solo album produced by American actor and filmmaker Mel Gibson, and they both co-authored two songs. She also signed a contract with Mel Gibson's production company, Icon Records, for making four of her songs into videos.

Critics called her song ‘Un día llegará’ an "outstanding track". Fred Shuster of Los Angeles Daily News commented, "The gorgeous 'Un día llegará,' opening with a sweep of guitar, sets the mood for romantic highlights to come".

The song ‘Say My Name’ from the album ‘Beautiful Heartache’ was used in the 2010 film ‘Edge of Darkness’. The album garnered Oksana rave reviews from critics in ABC News, Reuters and IndieLondon.