Olena Zelenska

Olena Zelenska Олена Зеленська
First Lady of Ukraine
Assumed role 20 May 2019
President	Volodymyr Zelensky
Preceded by	Maryna Poroshenko
Personal details
Born	Olena Volodymyrivna Kiyashko (1978-02-06) 6 February 1978 Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Spouse	Volodymyr Zelensky ​ (m. 2003)​
Children	2
Alma mater	Kryvyi Rih National University
Occupation	Writer architect

Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska (Ukrainian: Олена Володимирівна Зеленська; née Kiyashko (Ukrainian: Кіяшко); born 6 February 1978) is the current First Lady of Ukraine as the wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Life and work

Olena Kiyashko (maiden name) was born in Kryvyi Rih on 6 February 1978. She and her future husband were schoolmates, but they were not acquainted. Zelensky once said that he knew many of her classmates, but not Olena. They got acquainted much later — when Olena was studying at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Kryvyi Rih National University.

The relationship between the couple developed gradually — they dated for eight years before getting married in 2003. Two years later, their daughter Oleksandra was born. On January 21, 2013, Olena gave birth to their son Kyrylo.

Zelenska did not do much work as an architect. Instead she wrote texts for Kvartal 95. In her youth, she often accompanied Zelensky at performances and rehearsals, then gradually helping in the preparation of team acts. Later she became a full-fledged writer.

In December 2019, Olena Zelenska was included in the list of the 100 most influential Ukrainians by Focus magazine, taking the 30th place.

On 12 June 2020, Zelenska announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19. Four days later she was admitted to hospital for observation with the COVID-19 infection being described as "moderate severity" that did not need mechanical ventilation. Zelenska was dismissed from hospital on 3 July 2020 with continued domestic treatment for bilateral pneumonia.