She excelled at ballet dancing at the local house of culture, and was invited to study at the Bolshoi Theatre's choreographic school at the age of nine.
She continued her studies with the Bolshoi, combining it with appearances in films, with her breakthrough role occurring when she was cast in Finist, the brave Falcon.
She has since become a fitness teacher, teaches choreography at a private school, and makes occasional appearances on television, and in roles in the New Year's performances on Sparrow Hills.
[1][2][3] Her parents moved to the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic when Svetlana was five, and she grew up in a low-income family in Alma-Ata, where her maternal grandfather was a city prosecutor.
[2][4] Orlova performed at a dance club at the local house of culture, where her talent was noticed during a visit by the commission of the Bolshoi Theatre's choreographic school.
[5] After starring in films such as Granddaughter of Ice, The Princess on a Pea, and Finist, the brave Falcon, Orlova was dubbed the "first beauty of Soviet cinema fairy tales".
[2][4] She makes occasional appearances on television, including a documentary film about Georgy Millyar, and a program to mark the fortieth anniversary of the release of Finist, the brave Falcon.