Tania Balachova (Russian: , diminutive of [Tatiana Pavlovna Balachova]; 25 February 1902âÂÂ4 August 1973) was a Russian-French actress and director. After World War II, she became one of the most influential acting tutors in France.
Balachova was born in Saint Petersburg on 25 February 1902. Her family emigrated to Brussels, where she studied at the Royal Conservatory. It was at the conservatory that she met her future husband, Belgian actor Raymond Rouleau.
Balachova and Rouleau married and moved together to Paris. There, they collaborated with Gaston Baty, Charles Dullin, Louis Jouvet, Georges Pitoëff, and Antonin Artaud, among others. They separated in 1940, though they continued to work together professionally. She originated the role of Inès in Jean-Paul Sartre's Huis Clos [No Exit] at the Vieux-Colombier Theatre in May 1944.<sup>:30</sup>
She went on to become one of the most influential acting tutors in France, training many of its the next generation of theatre and cinema talent.
She died in Bagnoles-de-l'Orne on 4 August 1973 of a heart attack.