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In a dramatic final act to her life, thousands of Russians braved the late winter cold and long queues to file past her coffin in the Central House of Literature in Central Moscow, television pictures showed.
Meanwhile, her estranged daughter Maria, who reportedly had not spoken to her mother for years and only found out about her death from the media, made an unexpected appearance to lay flowers at the coffin.
"An unbelievable number of people have come to say goodbye. She earned it. She always said that she worked for the people," said legendary Soviet and Russian film star Sergei Yursky, quoted by RIA Novosti.
"A golden era has ended," added writer Mikhail Zhvanetsky. "This is her last full house."
Weekend commuters on the Moscow metro, meanwhile, were serenaded by recordings of Gurchenko singing in some of her best loved films.
In a bizarre twist, the Life News website said Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov, a businessman once ranked the world's third most wanted fugitive and known by the underworld nickname Taivanchik (Little Taiwan), was paying for the funeral.
The website also said her personal stylist Aslan Akhmadov had been allowed into the morgue to ensure Gurchenko was in the best condition before going to the grave. There was no official confirmation of the reports.
She was later buried in Moscow's famed Novodevichye cemetery after a funeral procession through Moscow led by a giant photograph of the iconic actress, watched by applauding onlookers.
The cemetery is the last resting place for many of Russia's cultural elite from the last century, including writer Anton Chekhov and a host of great actors.
Born in Kharkiv in today's Ukraine, Gurchenko began her acting career in the 1950s.
She danced and sung her way to stardom in Eldar Ryazanov's comedy "Carnival Night" in 1956 about the New Year's festivities at a USSR Economics Institute, instantly winning the hearts of millions of Soviets with the show-stopping song "Five Minutes".
Her films are still remembered fondly in Russia, especially by the older generation who associate Soviet movies with their youth and remain nostalgic for that era.
After the initial success in the 1950s her career was held back as Soviet cultural officials regarded her style as overly-Westernised.
But she found a new wave of fame in the 1970s with subtle performances in films by directors including Nikita Mikhalkov and Andrei Konchalovsky.
Vivacious and sharp-tongued in interviews, she never retired and reinvented herself again in 2005 by performing duets with Russia's only openly gay pop star, Boris Moiseyev.
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Meanwhile, her estranged daughter Maria, who reportedly had not spoken to her mother for years and only found out about her death from the media, made an unexpected appearance to lay flowers at the coffin.
"An unbelievable number of people have come to say goodbye. She earned it. She always said that she worked for the people," said legendary Soviet and Russian film star Sergei Yursky, quoted by RIA Novosti.
"A golden era has ended," added writer Mikhail Zhvanetsky. "This is her last full house."
Weekend commuters on the Moscow metro, meanwhile, were serenaded by recordings of Gurchenko singing in some of her best loved films.
In a bizarre twist, the Life News website said Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov, a businessman once ranked the world's third most wanted fugitive and known by the underworld nickname Taivanchik (Little Taiwan), was paying for the funeral.
The website also said her personal stylist Aslan Akhmadov had been allowed into the morgue to ensure Gurchenko was in the best condition before going to the grave. There was no official confirmation of the reports.
She was later buried in Moscow's famed Novodevichye cemetery after a funeral procession through Moscow led by a giant photograph of the iconic actress, watched by applauding onlookers.
The cemetery is the last resting place for many of Russia's cultural elite from the last century, including writer Anton Chekhov and a host of great actors.
Born in Kharkiv in today's Ukraine, Gurchenko began her acting career in the 1950s.
She danced and sung her way to stardom in Eldar Ryazanov's comedy "Carnival Night" in 1956 about the New Year's festivities at a USSR Economics Institute, instantly winning the hearts of millions of Soviets with the show-stopping song "Five Minutes".
Her films are still remembered fondly in Russia, especially by the older generation who associate Soviet movies with their youth and remain nostalgic for that era.
After the initial success in the 1950s her career was held back as Soviet cultural officials regarded her style as overly-Westernised.
But she found a new wave of fame in the 1970s with subtle performances in films by directors including Nikita Mikhalkov and Andrei Konchalovsky.
Vivacious and sharp-tongued in interviews, she never retired and reinvented herself again in 2005 by performing duets with Russia's only openly gay pop star, Boris Moiseyev.
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