Olga Tchakova (Russian: Ольга Чакова; known professionally as Olga Fonda) is a Russian-American[1] film and television actress and model. She is also known for her role as Nadia Petrova in The Vampire Diaries (2013–2014).
Olga Tchakova[2][3] was born in the Siberian region of Russia and then lived in Ukhta, Komi ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union,[2] in the country's Komi Republic. Her father, she said, "had grocery stores in one of the Russian villages that I grew up in".[4] She has an older brother.[5]
She moved to Maine in the United States for a year at age 14, as an exchange student living with the Auclair family in East Winthrop, Maine, while attending Winthrop High School from 1996 to 1997.[2] She returned to attend the University of Maine at Augusta, majoring in financial management.[2]
While vacationing in Los Angeles, California, Fonda was scouted by agent Paul Fisher to pursue modeling,[6][7] her longtime ambition.[2] After acting in TV commercials, she played a Russian ballerina in the 2009 independent film Love Hurts.[6]
Fonda, who has modeled since at least 2007[8] in Japan, Italy and the United States,[2] went on to appear in television series including How I Met Your Mother, Nip/Tuck, Melrose Place, and Entourage,[2][8] and played Owen Wilson's girlfriend in a nonspeaking role in Little Fockers.[citation needed] She was cast in the 2011 romantic-comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love, though her scene did not make the final cut; she does appear in the film's trailer.[6]
In 2010, Fonda was cast in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. She had a supporting role in 2011's Real Steel.[8][9] She played Nadia in The Vampire Diaries. In 2018, she was cast in the role of Sarah in the Netflix series Altered Carbon.[10]
In 2012, Fonda appeared in television commercials for the related companies TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods.[11][12] In 2015, she was cast as Olga Petrovka in Agent X, appearing opposite Sharon Stone.[13]
She is unrelated to the Fonda acting family and has said her reason for adopting that stage name "started as a mystery, [and so] I'm going to keep it a mystery. There’s really nothing to it but maybe one day I'll tell the story of how I got my name."[4]
Fonda supports the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital after being introduced to the charity by Jason Thomas Gordon, who started a campaign for the hospital called, Music Gives to St. Jude Kids.[14]
She is also a supporter of The Heroes Project, which was founded by Tim Medvetz to help wounded veterans.[15]
I got married this summer.
Then I came to LA for vacation and I was scouted to pursue modeling. Eventually, I started doing commercial work, and here and there, appearances for TV shows, and then I got approached to do an independent film, Love Hurts, where I played a Russian ballerina.
Two other additions to the lineup are James Rebhorn and Olga Fonda.