Film director and screenwriter Grigory Vasilyevich Alexandrov, People's Artist of the USSR, was born on January 23, 1903, in Yekaterinburg. In 1915, he began working at the Yekaterinburg Opera Theater, where he was a messenger and assistant props master and lighting technician. In 1917, he graduated from music school with a focus on violin. During the Civil War, he served on the Eastern Front, was in the political department of the 3rd Army, and managed the front theater.

In 1920, Alexandrov completed directing courses at the Workers' and Peasants' Theater and became an instructor in the arts department, where he oversaw the repertoire of cinemas and worked on editing. In 1921, he joined the troupe of the First Workers' Theater and met Sergei Eisenstein. Together they worked on several performances and transitioned to film in 1924. Alexandrov contributed to the creation of scripts and assisted Eisenstein in the films "Strike" and "Battleship Potemkin," as well as acted in them. In 1929 and 1932, they traveled across Europe and worked in the USA, where they learned from colleagues in Hollywood. A significant meeting for Alexandrov was with Charlie Chaplin. In 1932, he returned to the USSR and directed the film "Internationale."

In 1934, Alexandrov completed the musical film "The Merry Guys" with Leonid Utesov and Lyubov Orlova. Despite an initial ban, the film achieved enormous success thanks to the support of Maxim Gorky and Stalin's approval. The film marked the beginning of Orlova's "star" path and the debut of composer Isaac Dunayevsky and poet Vasily Lebedev-Kumach. The film won an award at the Venice Film Festival.

In 1936, Alexandrov directed the film "Circus" with Orlova in the lead role, which received the highest award at the International Exhibition in Paris. That same year, he released a documentary film about Stalin. In 1938, he completed the comedy "Volga-Volga," where Orlova played the role of the postwoman Strelka.

During the Great Patriotic War, Alexandrov and Orlova were evacuated to Almaty, and later he headed a studio in Baku. In 1943, he returned to Moscow as the head of "Mosfilm." In 1947, he directed the comedy "Spring," where Orlova played two roles. The film won an award at the Venice Festival, and Orlova was recognized as the best actress of the year.

In 1949, Alexandrov directed the film "Meeting on the Elbe," which was recognized at festivals in Bratislava and other cities. In 1952, he released the biographical film "Composer Glinka," which won an award in Locarno and a diploma in Edinburgh. His next film "Russian Souvenir" was not successful, and "The Starling and the Lyre" was not released. From 1950 to 1957, he was the artistic director at VGIK. In 1983, he made a documentary film about his wife "Lyubov Orlova."

Alexandrov was married to actress Lyubov Orlova, who played leading roles in most of his films. He passed away on December 16, 1983, and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. Alexandrov was awarded three Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of Friendship of Peoples, and the Order of the Red Star, and he was a two-time laureate of the Stalin Prize.