Not Born Beautiful

Not Born Beautiful (Russian: Не родись красивой) is a telenovela filmed in Russia, directed by Alexander Nazarov and shown from 5 September 2005 to 7 July 2006 by the Russian network STS. It is a Russian spin of the Colombian "Yo Soy Betty La Fea" (I'm Betty, the Ugly One) telenovela, which has fostered more than a dozen versions in other countries. The telenovela reached success in Russia and boosted the ratings of the TV network STS.

Nelli Uvarova plays the role of a charming ugly girl, Yekaterina (Katya) Pushkareva. This became a breakout role in Nelli’s career and brought her national love and fame. During the broadcast of the series she became a real star of Russian television. Nelli's American counterpart America Ferrara also became widely known for her portrayal of the namesake of Ugly Betty.

The show attracted viewers who were not in the traditional viewing audience of telenovelas. In fall of 2005, fully one-third of Russian TV viewers, and 58% of Ukraine viewers, were tuning in to watch the show.

According to TV's Betty Goes Global: From Telenovela to International Brand, Not Born Beautiful is likely the closest and most faithful of "Yo soy Betty, la fea"'s international adaptations.

And according to its authors, in 2004-6, Russia was "at an apex" of "consumerism and glamour culture", and:

Ne rodis' krasivoy addresse[d] the central cultural conflict of post-Soviet culture: the negotiation between the Russian (Soviet) values and the new corporate bourgeois ones.

In all 200 episodes were filmed, many on a one-per-day schedule. The "industrial pace of shooting" matched the industrial setting, Media City's studios in the former Soviet-era Moscow ball-bearing plant, which operated from the 1930s to 1990. This was 31 more episodes than in the Colombian original series.

American TV executive James Kramer and other Americans were involved in bringing "Ugly Betty" to Russia.

Plot
The theme (If love lives in your heart/Esli v serdtse zhivet lyubov), with music and lyrics by Anastasiya Maksimova, performed by Yulia Savicheva became well known. The song, performed by Alsou, received a 2008 Russian MTV award as the first in a medley of nine songs required to be performed by singers or groups other than the original recording artist.

Katya, a plain-looking girl, works as a secretary at the company Zimaletto, a manufacturer of uniforms and wedding dresses. No man has paid attention to her yet, but she doesn't allow her looks to keep her from dreaming about love and happiness.

Katya is a smart and educated girl, but outwardly absolutely unattractive. This circumstance prevents her from finding a good job. By the will of fate, Katya manages to get a secretary at the fashion clothing company Zimaletto. But here, her appearance, as well as devotion to her boss Andrei Zhdanov, cause rejection among other employees of the company. In particular, the bride of Andrei Kira does not like Katya because she covers Zhdanov’s infidelity, Kira’s girlfriend Vika - because she walked around her when applying for a job, designer Milko - because she insults his sense of beauty with her appearance. However, Katya falls in love with handsome Andrei and is ready to endure everything for him. She hopes that her chosen one will reciprocate one day.

Things are not going well for the company, and Andrei needs Katya's help to hide this. A bit later, the company vice president Roman Malinovsky, involved in the fraud, had doubts about Katya's fidelity, and so that she would not deceive them, Malinovsky persuades Andrei to play love with his ugly secretary. Andrei is forced to agree, but gradually he falls in love with a sincere and devoted girl. However, all the secret sooner or later becomes apparent.

Upon learning that Andrei’s love is just a game, Katya reveals all his machinations to members of the board of directors and leaves. Former Zimaletto employee Juliana, who appreciates professionalism in people and not appearance, takes Katya to work in her PR agency. Juliana, as well as other new friends Katie help her transform both externally and internally. Now she is no longer the timid ugly, as before. Suddenly, one of the founders of Zimaletto, Andrei’s father, turns to her: as a result of the machinations of his son, Katya actually became the owner of the company. He offers the girl to take the presidency, as other candidates did not cope with this post.
 * The spin-off comedy "UmaNetto" (literally translated as No Brains), was broadcast by STS in 2007

Cast

 * Nelli Uvarova - Yekaterina Pushkareva
 * Grigory Antipenko - Andrey Pavlovich Zhdanov
 * Artoym Semakin - Nikolai Zorkin
 * Pyotr Krasilov - Roman Malinovsky
 * Olga Lomonosova - Kira Voropayeva
 * Mikhail Zhigalov - Valery Pushkarev
 * Irina Muravyova - Yelena Pushareva
 * Yulia Takshina - Vika
 * Ilya Lubimov - Alexander Voropaev
 * Maria Mashkova - Masha, secretary
 * Anna Dimova - Amura Buyo
 * Raisa Ryazanova - Olga Uyutova
 * Natalya Rizih - Sveta
 * Yulia Kuvarzina - Tanya
 * Irina Sirotinskaya - Alexandra Kriventsova
 * Viktor Dobronrarov - Fyodor
 * Vitaly Egorov - Milko Vukanovich
 * Sergey Bolotaev - Sergey Potapkin
 * Dmitri Zenichev - Yaroslav Vetrov
 * Karina Ivanova; Darya Luzina - Maryana Pereguda
 * Alexander Korjenkov - Zakhar
 * Andrei Kuzichev - Mikhail Borshyov
 * Olga Levitina - Vasilisa
 * Olga Ostroumova - Margarita Zhdanova
 * Natalya Riychkova - Yuliana Vinogradova
 * Georgi Taratorkin - Pavel Olegovich Zhdanov
 * Yulia Rutberg - Kristina Voropaeva
 * Mihail Shklovski - Victor Tsypin
 * Oleg Shklovski - Georgy Uryadov
 * Oleg Kuhta - Anatoly
 * Irina Shebeko - Valeriya
 * Mikhail Safronov - Alexander Alexeevich
 * Yevgeny Kosirev - Anatoly Ponchev
 * Victor Cherepanov - Ivan Vasilyevich
 * Pavel Misailov - Boris Filin
 * Sergey Epishev - Boris Rulin
 * Vladimir Yaglych - Leonid
 * Zakhar Ronzhin - Radik
 * Mikhail KhimichevvNikita Minaev
 * Sergey Oleksyak - Shurik
 * Ola Keyru - Anton
 * Valery Zolotukhin - Igor Sergeyevich
 * Lyudmila Alyokhina - Larisa Petrovna
 * Victor Bunakov - Alexey
 * Victor Ryabov - Felix Korsakov, restaurant critic
 * Alexander Chislov - Valeriy Vladimirovich
 * Alexey Losihin - Dmitry Valerievich Sinitckiy
 * Oleg Maslennikov-Voytov - Ronald
 * Natalya Starikova - Nadezhda Tkachuk
 * Petar Zekavica - Hans Kramer
 * Yulia Vayshnur - Anna Aleksandrovna
 * Yevgeny Kalinin - Sergey, bus driver