Russian ballerina, wife of Pablo Picasso. She was born in the Ukraine into the family of a colonel of the Russian Imperial army. She joined a dancing group despite the disapproval of her parents. Dyaghilev, who loved to have "girls from good families" in his group, treated her kindly. In the spring of 1917 she met Pablo Picasso. By that time she had been in Sergei Dyaghilev's Russian ballet company for 5 years. Picasso was very much interested in everything Russian. Olga liked Picasso, and though she was not interested in his art, his fame impressed her. He painted her a lot, in a realistic manner, on which Olga insisted, as she did not like experiments in painting. "I want to recognize my own face," she said. In Barcelona, Picasso made Olga meet his mother, who liked the Russian girl, visited many performances with her participation, but once warned her, "My son lives only for himself, no woman could be safe and happy with him". When the Russian ballet company left for Latin America, Olga stayed. Together with Picasso she returned to France, and settled in Monrouge. It was there that Picasso painted the most famous of her portraits 'Olga in the Arm-Chair'. On July 12, 1918, they married. Pablo was sure that he was marrying for life that is why in their wedding contract an article stated that all the property was mutual, including works of art. On February 4, 1921, their son Paul was born. In January 1927, Picasso met the next victim of his passions – Marie-Thérèse Walter. With her he wanted to cross Olga out of his life. His hatred to her he began to vent in his paintings. He painted her as a horse, or an old shrew. Later he would say, that Olga "wanted too much of me… it was the worst period in my life." The first who failed to bear the situation was Olga. She could not stand her husband's hatred any longer, and the existence of a rival. After another family scandal she left the house with her son. But they were never divorced and she remained his official wife until her death in 1955.