Tamara Vasilyevna Degtyaryova (Russian: Тамара Васильевна Дегтярёва; 29 May 1944 – 9 August 2018) was a Russian stage, television and film actress.^[1][2] In 1979, she received the State Prize of the USSR for her role in the television series Eternal Call.^[3][4] In 2005 she was made a People's Artist of Russia.^[4][5]

Degtyaryova was born in Kaliningrad (present-day Korolyov, Moscow Oblast), in 1944.^[6] Her parents were factory workers and as Degtyaryova was ill as a child, her mother stopped work to look after her.^[2]

She graduated from the State Institute of Theatrical Art, Moscow, in 1965 and performed with the Moscow Youth Theatre from 1965 to 1970.^[7] In 1970, she was invited to join the Sovremennik Theater, and played over 30 roles at the theatre during her career.^[8] She performed in plays including Three Sisters (in the role of Anifisa), Pygmalion (in the role of Mrs Pearce) and Twelfth Night (in the role of Olivia).^[8] In later years, she occasionally appeared at other theatres, including a production of The Cherry Orchard at the Anton Chekhov Theatre in 1990, and the play Gadina at the New Drama Theatre in 1999.^[7]

Degtyaryova also appeared in films and television series, including Light in the Window (1980), Nikolai Vavilov (1990), Seeking a Man and Cool Route.^[9] Her most well-known role was as Agatha Savelieva in Eternal Call, a long-running Russian television drama series.^[2]

Degtyaryova taught acting in a number of educational institutions in Russia including Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography and the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts.^[6]

In November 2012, Degtyaryova had a leg amputated due to an untreated infection, and she spent the next two years convalescing.^[2] She then returned to perform on stage with the use of a wheelchair, including the role of Evdokia in the play Women's Time.^[1][3]

Degtyaryova died in Moscow on 9 August 2018 at the age of 74.^[9][10]

Degtyaryova was married for ten years to stage director Yuri Pogrebnichenko, whom she met while with the Moscow Youth Theatre, until they divorced.^[2]