Ivan Andreyevich Urgant (; born 16 April 1978) is a Russian television host, presenter, actor, musician and producer. His best known roles in film are Boris in the Yolki series and as Danila in Lucky Trouble. Between 2012 and 2022 he has hosted Evening Urgant, a late-night talk show, which was suspended in February 2022 after Urgant expressed his opposition to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the 2008 and 2011 surveys, Urgant is Russia's most popular TV presenter. He is the chairman of the board of trustees of the Friends Charitable Foundation. Biography Early life Ivan Urgant was born in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR into a family of actors, the son of Andrei Urgant and Valeriya Kiseleva. His paternal grandparents were actors Nina Urgant and Lev Milinder. His Estonian surname Urgant comes from Nina's father, Nikolai Andreyevich Urgant, a NKVD Major from Luga and a son of Räpina-born Hindrik Urgand. He is of mixed Russian, Estonian, and Jewish heritage. About a year after Ivan's birth the family separated. After his parents broke up, he lived with his mother and stepfather - Leningrad actor Dmitri Ladygin. Ivan studied at the Leningrad Children's Music School No. 18, at the Gymnasium at the State Russian Museum. He graduated from Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy. After receiving his acting education, Ivan did not engage in theater as the main profession. He worked as a waiter, bartender, and then as a host in nightly shows in clubs. In 2018, it was reported he had taken Israeli citizenship. Career In 1999, Urgant managed to get a job at the St. Petersburg radio stations. In addition, he appeared on television, was the host of the program Petersburg Courier on 5TV. Later, he was moved to Moscow and continued his career on the radio - first on Russian Radio, and then on "Hit-FM." In May 2001, Ivan first appeared on Moscow television, on the television channel MTV Russia. He received an invitation to a casting at a time when Olga Shelest and Anton Komolov were looking for a couple of hosts to team up with on the show Cheerful Morning. Since 2002, after the departure of the original team of VJs of "MTV Russia", he began to host the programs Total Show and Expresso. From 2003 to 2005 he was involved in a number of TV projects on the Russia-1: he was the host