Ilza Ponko Bio: Age, Height, Net Worth, Movies & TV Shows, Career, Husband, Awards

Ilza Ponko is a Cuban-Russian actress and singer-songwriter recognized for her versatile supporting roles in American and Latin American film and television.

She has appeared opposite Robert De Niro in Hands of Stone, Kevin Bacon in The Darkness, and Jeffrey Donovan in Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, and gained wider notice as the Russian antagonist Irina Kilichenko in the series La Piloto.

Ilza Ponko
Wiki Facts & About Data
Name:	Ilza Ponko
Born:	11 January 1985 (age 41 years old)
Place of Birth:	Havana, Cuba
Nationality:	Cuban
Ethnicity:	Cuban-Russian
Height:	1.60 m
Religion:	Christianity
Parents:	Mr. and Mrs. Ponko
Occupation:	Actress, Singer-songwriter
Net Worth:	$200,000–$800,000

Early Life and Education

Ilza Ponko was born on January 11, 1985, in Havana, Cuba, to parents referred to as Mr. and Mrs. Ponko; her father is Cuban and her mother is Russian.

Siblings are not publicly detailed. At the age of three her family moved to Moscow, where she lived until age twelve and began studying piano at a conservatory. She later returned to Cuba, continued musical training at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory, and pursued acting and music while living in Colombia, the United States, and Mexico. She is of Cuban and Russian descent, and her religion is Christianity.

Career

Ilza Ponko started her professional path in music as a child, studying piano from age seven and later composing and performing. She shifted greater focus to acting around 2010 after moving to Colombia, where she appeared in local television series.

Her U.S. breakthrough came with the role of Beatriz in the USA Network television movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe (2011). She followed this with supporting parts in the features Hands of Stone (as Clara Samaniego opposite Robert De Niro) and The Darkness (as Gloria Ortega opposite Kevin Bacon), both released in 2016.

She subsequently built a strong presence in Spanish-language television, most notably as the recurring Russian antagonist Irina Kilichenko across 82 episodes of La Piloto (season 2).

Additional credits include Mirna in Ruta Madre, roles in La Reina Soy Yo, El Señor de los Cielos, and Isabel Castillo in the Apple TV+ series For All Mankind. Parallel to acting she has continued releasing music, including singles and contributions to project soundtracks, and remains active across film, television, and music in both English- and Spanish-language markets.

Social Media

• Instagram Handle: @ilzaponko
• Twitter/X Handle: @ilzaponko

Personal Life

Ilza Ponko, 41 years old and 1.60 m tall, keeps details of her private life largely private. No confirmed information about a spouse, long-term partners, or children is widely available, and she is understood to be single.

Fluent in Spanish, Russian, and English, she has lived and worked in Cuba, Russia, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States while balancing acting and music.

Net Worth

Ilza Ponko has an estimated net worth in the range of $200,000 to $800,000. Her income derives primarily from acting roles in film and television, music releases and soundtrack contributions, and related entertainment work.

Filmography

• For All Mankind (2022)
• El Señor de los Cielos (2023)
• La Reina Soy Yo (2019)
• Ruta Madre (2019)
• La Piloto (2018)
• Hands of Stone (2016)
• The Darkness (2016)
• Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe (2011)

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