Anastasiya Mitrunen

Anastasiya Mitrunen was born on May 3, 1986 in one of the coldest places in the world, Siberia, Russia. At age 5 her parents brought her to a village in the Republic of Karelia, which is located south of Finland. She had been living in a small village for six years and had learned how to chop wood, draw water from a well, pick mushrooms, berries, all types of vegetables and learned how to survive and not get lost in the forest. She learned about nature as well and developed a love for all the wild animals in the forest. She learned how to swim on her own as there was a beautiful lake locally, which was full of the most interesting fish she had ever seen. She learned to manage sheep and cattle and other wild animals on the farm. When she was seven years old while drawing water from a well she fell in and experienced the most frightening moment of her life. Her will to survive and her natural sense of survival allowed her to climb out of the well on her own and avoid what could have been a terrible disaster for a little girl. Although her family was very poor, Anastasiya found the beauty of life and taught herself to make toys from fabric her grandmother gave her as well as beautiful flowers of all colors. At age 11 she moved back to Siberia with her family. She began working and saved enough money to buy a sewing machine and start manufacturing clothes for her friends herself and those close to her. At 25 years of age Anastasiya moved to the United States to work as a model. On the first day of her arrival, she absolutely fell in love with the United States. She created a clothing website and began modeling for it. Then she was asked to model for other manufacturers, make up artists and photographers, but she always wanted something more powerful and beautiful. She decided to attend the Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theater in Los Angeles and she fell in love with the stage. Through her love of nature and truth, she has developed a great appreciation for the written word and acting as a tool to grow as a human being. As her skills as an actress developed, she was invited to become a member of the prestigious Actors Gang in Culver City, founded by Oscar-winning actor Tim Robbins, who serves as its artistic director.