Famous Ukrainians abroad: Polish pop diva with Ukrainian roots Maryna Luchenko-Szchensna

Mila Kunis is not the only one! Many celebrities in the world are of Ukrainian descent. Among them is the famous Polish pop singer and actress Maryna Luchenko-Szchensna. The girl gathers millions of listeners throughout the country, writes songs, plays in films. What is known about her creative path? What does it have to do with Ukraine?

Maryna Luchenko-Szchensna is one of the most famous singers in Poland. The girl was born in Vinnytsia, but moved to Poland with her parents at a young age. Here Luchenko became a popular R&B and pop performer, performing under the pseudonym MaRina.

In addition to her singing career, MaRina is well known as the wife of Polish footballer Wojciech Szczęsny. The star couple appears in Polish magazines almost every day, and the local media actively targets them. From the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the artist has clearly defined her position - she supports the quick victory of the Ukrainians. The Ukrayina.pl service asked about the turbulent biography of the famous pop diva of Ukrainian origin.

Born to sing: what was Maryna Luchenko-Szchensna's childhood and emigration to Poland like?

The artist was born in the Ukrainian city of Vinnitsa in 1989. She has a brother Yevhen. When the girl was 2 years old, the family emigrated to the Polish town of Stalowa Wola. In an interview with Viva magazine, Marina said that the reason for her migration was her brother's illness. "My grandparents are Poles. When the Soviet Union collapsed, and we were able to travel, my parents decided to find a better place for us to live. And since we had family and friends in Poland, the choice was obvious", said the artist.

"Believe me, when I was a little girl in Stalowa Wola, I absolutely did not stand out from my peers, except for one thing - a huge passion for music from an early age," the artist admitted on her Instagram.

As a child, Marina often participated in various national song contests. Some of the performances even have video memorabilia. Like from the music festival in Kielce.

In addition to Polish competitions, the girl actively performed in Ukraine. In particular, in 2001, Marina returned to Vinnitsa to win the Grand Prix of the Children's Song Festival "Musical Umbrella". In 2003 in Skadovsk at the Black Sea Games she took an honorable second place. And this is only a small part of the achievements that the girl has more than three dozen.

Communication with Ukraine

Before the full-scale invasion began, Marina rarely mentioned her childhood in Ukraine. This is not surprising, because the girl immigrated to Poland when she was very young. “And although the children made me feel like a foreigner, I always felt like a Pole,” Marina once admitted to Viva magazine.

However, from the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the singer actively supported her Motherland. She shared the course of events in Ukraine on social networks. In particular, she published information about the shelling of Ukrainian cities and her native Vinnitsa.

Marina's husband also expressed his position on the war in Ukraine. Recall that in 2022, the Polish national team refused to meet the Russian national team in the play-offs for entry to the 2022 World Cup.

"My wife was born in Ukraine and my son has Ukrainian blood," Shchensny said.

“We have relatives in Ukraine. Seeing the suffering on the faces of Ukrainians is something that cannot be tolerated. You can't act as if nothing happened. Although my heart breaks as I write this, my conscience does not allow me to play for the national team against Russia. I refuse to go onto the pitch in front of players who represent Russia's values ​​and I refuse to listen to its national anthem. I will not participate in a sporting event that legitimizes the actions of the Russian government."