Nina Naboka Recognized Ukrainian Stars from Childhood Photos: Which Actress She Couldn't Identify at First Glance

The lifestyle project WAVE RBC.UA ran an unusual recognition test: actress Nina Naboka was shown archival childhood photographs of famous Ukrainian stars and asked to name them. The experiment posed a simple but non-obvious question — how well do artists know their colleagues if they see them not in their familiar adult appearance on screen or in the audience, but in photos from early childhood. The selection included Olga Sumskaya, Taras Tsybuliuk, Tonia Khizhnjak, Lilia Rebric, and Natalka Denysenko, and among the other people's photos, Naboka's own childhood picture was discreetly hidden.

The First Trio: Recognition Without Hints

The game started with three colleagues — Olga Sumskaya, Taras Tsybuliuk, and Antonina Khizhnjak. According to the publication, the childhood photographs of these artists were provided by the stars themselves. It was at this stage that the test went most smoothly: familiar facial features allowed the actress to navigate the frames, and the first trio served as a warm-up for Naboka before the more difficult rounds.

A Surprise in the Selection: Her Own Childhood

After the three colleagues, the actress was in for a surprise — hidden among the stream of other people's photos was her own childhood picture. This twist turned the game not only into a test of memory about colleagues but also into a personal encounter with her own past, giving the test an emotional, almost family-like tone.

The Hardest Frames: Rebric and Denysenko

The test was concluded with photographs of Lilia Rebric and Natalka Denysenko — it was these that made the actress look at the familiar faces the longest. Seeing one of the photos, Naboka immediately understood only that a young woman was in front of her, and admitted: "This is a girl, right? And who is she? Also a very famous actress? A very famous actress. Let's set her aside for now." Then they began giving her hints — a mother of many children, a blonde, a TV presenter and a dancer. Following this chain of clues, the actress eventually arrived at the correct answer — Lilia Rebric — and commented on the frame: "Well, she doesn't look like that here."

The Final Round and the Reaction to Denysenko

Last of all, they showed her the childhood photograph of Natalka Denysenko, and once again the answer did not come instantly. The hint was that the photo featured one of the most popular Ukrainian actresses, who at one time had been in a relationship with Taras Tsybuliuk. Naboka reacted emotionally to the frame: "Natalka! God, Natalka doesn't look like that at all." Thus, the test clearly showed that even people close by profession are not always able to recognize a colleague by their childhood face if their appearance has changed significantly with age.

Context: What Is the Project and How the Game Works

WAVE is a lifestyle project of RBC-Ukraine devoted to style, beauty, health, psychology, gastronomy, travel, and other topics. The "recognition from childhood photos" format became entertaining yet telling: it demonstrates how strong (and how fragile) visual memory is for people we know only by their current appearance. For the reader, such material works as a light entertainment column, while for Naboka herself it was a chance to recall her colleagues and her own childhood in a single frame.