At the age of 7, she debuted in the Soviet children's television program "Veseliye Notki" "(Happy Musical Notes)" with the song "Solnyshko Smeyotsya" ("The Sun Laughs"). In 1982, she was cast in the leading role of "Lena Bessoltseva" in "Scarecrow", a film by Rolan Bykov based on the Vladimir Zheleznikov play of the same name. Production began in 1982 and the film premiered in 1984. It became a critical success, not only in Russia but also overseas, and turned Orbakaite into a child star.