# Oksana Grigorieva (Оксана Петровна Григорьева)
**Oksana Grigorieva** (Оксана Петровна Григорьева; born 1970 in Saransk, Russia) is a Russian-born singer, pianist, and songwriter who emigrated to the United States and is best known for her 2009 debut album *Beautiful Heartache*, released on [Mel Gibson](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-gibson)'s Icon label with Gibson as executive producer, and for the song "Un día llegará," which she wrote for [Josh Groban](https://www.edgepedia.org/josh-groban)'s album *Awake*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1334110/) • [2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970, Saransk, Mordovian ASSR, RSFSR, USSR (now Mordovia, Russia); childhood surname Chernukha[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1334110/) • [3](https://24smi.org/celebrity/2097-oksana-grigoreva.html) |
| Training | Kazan Conservatory graduate; continued piano studies at the Royal College of Music in London from age 20[3](https://24smi.org/celebrity/2097-oksana-grigoreva.html) |
| Breakthrough song | "Un día llegará," written for Josh Groban's 2006 album *Awake*[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/) |
| Gibson collaboration | Co-wrote "Say My Name" with Gibson; he directed four music videos for the album, shot in seven days in Mexico[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/) |
| Later releases | Singles "Move On," "Pissed," and "DMS" (2019); "Thunder" and "Lemonade" (2022)[4](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/oksana-grigorieva/279164252) |
## Early life and training
Grigorieva was born in Saransk in 1970 and carried the surname Chernukha during her childhood and youth.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1334110/) • [3](https://24smi.org/celebrity/2097-oksana-grigoreva.html) Her parents were professional musicians, music professors by training, and her mother began teaching her piano in her preschool years; she has said she started piano at age three and began writing music at six.[5](https://spletnik.ru/7962-zvezdnoe-intervyu-oksana-grigoreva-112841)She finished a music school piano program and then received her higher education at the Kazan Conservatory, qualifying as a professional pianist.[3](https://24smi.org/celebrity/2097-oksana-grigoreva.html) In an interview she described graduating at 19 with a profession that let her support herself by teaching piano, music composition, and theory.[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/) As a child she also excelled at ballet and was recruited for the Kirov's training program in St. Petersburg, but her parents decided against her moving so far from home; she has said her ballet career "pretty much ended when I was six."[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/) • [6](https://sonichits.com/video/Oksana_Grigorieva/Say_my_Name)
## London years
At 20 she moved to Britain and continued her musical training at the Royal College of Music in London.[3](https://24smi.org/celebrity/2097-oksana-grigoreva.html) To support herself she taught children piano, gave chamber concerts of classical works in churches, worked as a caregiver for elderly people, and waited tables in bars.[3](https://24smi.org/celebrity/2097-oksana-grigoreva.html) In her own account, modeling work in Britain in her twenties led to commercials and another source of income.[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/)
Her composing drew wider attention in 2006, when "Un día llegará" (Spanish for "A Day Will Come") appeared on Josh Groban's album *Awake*.[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/) She has described the song's success as the moment "doors opened and offers came through," and she had also written pieces for theater, with stage performances by [Gregory Peck](https://www.edgepedia.org/gregory-peck) and [Vanessa Redgrave](https://www.edgepedia.org/vanessa-redgrave) set to her music, and scored a couple of short films.[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/)
## Beautiful Heartache and the Gibson collaboration
Grigorieva signed with Icon, Mel Gibson's record label, after a producer friend played her music for him; at their first meeting he asked her to play live.[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/) Last.fm lists an Icon Records iTunes release date of July 28, 2009.[7](https://www.last.fm/music/Oksana%20Grigorieva)
**Songwriting and videos.** Gibson co-wrote the lyrics of "Say My Name," the first single, which was inspired by the story of his film *Edge of Darkness*, about a parent who loses a child; the song appeared on the film's soundtrack.[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1334110/) Grigorieva described it as "naked, intimate, raw emotion, little more than piano and voice like a cry from the soul."[8](https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/a/Rx1arr/det-ar-naket-och-intimt) Gibson directed four music videos for album songs, shot in seven days in Mexico, which Grigorieva described as "like dramatic miniature films."[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/lostinshowbiz/2009/aug/14/mel-gibson-oksana-grigorieva) One video, for the title track, shows her pinned to a wall while a blindfolded man throws knives at her head, and later playing a piano that bursts into flames.[10](https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/07/video-mel-gibson-directed-oksanas-music-video-knives-thrown-her-lyrics-are/)
The album was recorded at Ocean Way Studios, Henson Studios, Glenwood Studios, Capitol Records' historic facility, and her home studio, with drummer [Matt Chamberlain](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-chamberlain), bassist Paul Bushnell, guitarists Lyle Workman and Greg Suran, keyboard player Jamie Muhoberac, and strings arranged and conducted by David Campbell; lyrics were co-written on some songs with the multi-Grammy-nominated Charlie Midnight.[6](https://sonichits.com/video/Oksana_Grigorieva/Say_my_Name)
## Later career
In 2010, TMZ reported that she had a full CD's worth of new music produced by Gibson, who had co-written some songs and therefore held some publishing rights, but that his sign-off was needed for release.[11](https://www.tmz.com/2010/07/26/oksana-grigorieva-mel-gibson-cd-new-music-producer/)
Her own biography page announced a new album, *BASIC*, scheduled for release in early January 2019 by Bungalo Records with exclusive distribution through [Universal Music Group](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-music-group), with production work by Lloyd Tolbert and lyrics by Tony Haynes, and a music video for the title track completed by Grammy-winning producer Damion Elliott.[12](https://oksanagrigorieva.com/biography/) Apple Music lists her 2019 singles "Move On," "Pissed," and "DMS," and the 2022 singles "Thunder" and "Lemonade," with music videos for the last two.[4](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/oksana-grigorieva/279164252) The single "Pissed," arranged by Lloyd Tolbert, who had previously worked with [Diana Ross](https://www.edgepedia.org/diana-ross), Lionel Richie, and [Stevie Wonder](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevie-wonder), and with lyrics by Tony Haynes, brought her recognition from music critics according to one Russian profile.[3](https://24smi.org/celebrity/2097-oksana-grigoreva.html) IMDb credits her as composer of the 2019 music videos "Move On" and "Pissed" and lists acting credits including Dr. Grant in *Beyond the Game* (2016).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1334110/)
## Personal life
IMDb records a marriage to Nicholas Rowland from April 6, 1992, to 1994, ending in divorce.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1334110/) Her son Alexander, with the actor [Timothy Dalton](https://www.edgepedia.org/timothy-dalton), was born in 1997; the song "Angel" on *Beautiful Heartache* is dedicated to him.[3](https://24smi.org/celebrity/2097-oksana-grigoreva.html) Her relationship with Mel Gibson, who was separated from his wife in 2006, became public in 2009, and their daughter Lucia-Anne was born in late 2009.[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/) • [5](https://spletnik.ru/7962-zvezdnoe-intervyu-oksana-grigoreva-112841) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/lostinshowbiz/2009/aug/14/mel-gibson-oksana-grigorieva)
## References
1. [Oksana Grigorieva, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1334110/)
2. [Oksana Grigorieva – The IndieLondon interview](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/oksana-grigorieva-the-indielondon-interview/)
3. [Оксана Григорьева — биография, 24СМИ](https://24smi.org/celebrity/2097-oksana-grigoreva.html)
4. [Oksana Grigorieva, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/oksana-grigorieva/279164252)
5. [Звездное интервью: Оксана Григорьева, Spletnik](https://spletnik.ru/7962-zvezdnoe-intervyu-oksana-grigoreva-112841)
6. [Say My Name | Oksana Grigorieva, SonicHits](https://sonichits.com/video/Oksana_Grigorieva/Say_my_Name)
7. [Oksana Grigorieva, Last.fm](https://www.last.fm/music/Oksana%20Grigorieva)
8. [Gravida Oksana släpper singel, Aftonbladet](https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/a/Rx1arr/det-ar-naket-och-intimt)
9. [Mel Gibson plays muse to his pregnant girlfriend, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/lostinshowbiz/2009/aug/14/mel-gibson-oksana-grigorieva)
10. [VIDEO: Mel Gibson Directed Oksana's Music Video, RadarOnline](https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/07/video-mel-gibson-directed-oksanas-music-video-knives-thrown-her-lyrics-are/)
11. [Oksana Grigorieva's Gotta Have Mel Gibson to Release Music, TMZ](https://www.tmz.com/2010/07/26/oksana-grigorieva-mel-gibson-cd-new-music-producer/)
12. [Biography – Oksana Grigorieva](https://oksanagrigorieva.com/biography/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › Adult contemporary, 1990s, and 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license