Natalya Negoda caused quite the sensation when she played the title teen in Vasily Pichul's controversial Soviet film Malenkaya Vera (1988) as she boldly played in a sex scene that was considered shockingly graphic by Soviet standards. However, Negoda's bright star quickly dimmed. Her subsequent film appearances have been sporadic and unremarkable. Before making her film debut in Zavtra byla Voyna (Tomorrow Was the War) (1987), Negoda studied drama, dance, and voice at the Moscow Art Theater Institute.