Lila Kedrova

Early life

Yelizaveta Nikolayevna Kedrova was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. During her life, her birth date was often reported as 9 October 1918. However, her gravestone gives her birth date 9 October 1909.

Kedrova was the youngest of three children born to opera singer parents. Her father, Nikolay Kedrov Sr. (1871–1940), was a singer and composer, a creator of the first Russian male quartet to perform liturgical chants. Her mother, Sofia Gladkaya (1874–1965), was a singer at the Mariinsky Theatre and a teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris. Her brother, Nikolay Kedrov Jr. (died 1981), was a Russian singer and composer of liturgical music. Her sister, Irene Kedroff (Irina Nikolayevna Kedrova; died 1989), was a soprano.

In 1922, several years after the October Revolution, the family emigrated to Berlin. In 1928, they moved to France, where Kedrova's mother taught at the Conservatoire de Paris, and her father again recreated Quatuor Kedroff.

Career

In 1932, Kedrova joined the Moscow Art Theatre touring company. Throughout the 1950's and '60s was a fixture of the Parisian stage, notably appearing in productions of The Rose Tattoo, The Playboy of the Western World, A View from the Bridge, A Taste of Honey, and Les Parents terribles. During this time, she also married actor-director Pierre Valde.

She made her film debut in 1938's Ultimatum. She appeared in several French films, mainly in supporting parts, until her first English-language film appearance as Madame Hortense in Zorba the Greek (1964). She won the role after the director's first choice, Simone Signoret, quit early in production. Despite being a relative unknown internationally, director Michael Cacoyannis reached out to her personally. Her performance ultimately won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Kedrova then appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's film Torn Curtain (1966), playing the role of Countess Kuchinska, a Polish noblewoman in East Berlin who is desperate to emigrate to the United States. Kedrova played Fräulein Schneider in the West End stage production of Cabaret in 1968, and Lyuba Ranevskaya in a UK touring production of The Cherry Orchard. She then played a series of eccentric and crazy women in Hollywood films, as well as in several Italian productions including the horror films Footprints on the Moon and The Cursed Medallion. In 1976, she starred in Roman Polanski's The Tenant.

In 1983, she reprised her role as Madame Hortense on Broadway in the musical stage version of Zorba the Greek, winning both a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical in the process. In 1989, she played Madame Armfeldt in the London revival of A Little Night Music.

Personal life

Kedrova's second husband was Canadian stage director Richard Howard (1932–2017). She retired from acting in the mid-1990s due to Alzheimer's disease.

Death

In 2000, Kedrova died at her summer home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, of pneumonia. Her remains were cremated, and her ashes are buried in her family grave in the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery in Paris.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

References

1. "Lila Kedrova (1909-2000) - Find a Grave Memorial".
2. Jones, Kenneth. (22 February 2000). "Tony Winner Lila Kedrova, of Zorba, is Dead".
3. "Lila Kedrova".
4. "Irene Kedroff (Soprano) - Short Biography".
5. Rule, Vera. (2000-04-24). "Lila Kedrova". The Guardian.
6. Osborne, Robert. (1994). "65 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards". Abbeville Press.
7. Sondheim, Stephen. (2000). "Four by Sondheim". Rowman & Littlefield.
8. [https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/sault-ste-marie-on/richard-howard-7371093 Obituary of Richard Howard], dignitymemorial.com. Accessed 3 January 2024.
9. "Lila Kedrova, Who Won An Oscar And Tony For Her Work In 'Zorba'". Chicago Tribune.
10. (20 April 2000). "Lila Kedrova, Known for Oscar-Winning Role in 'Zorba,' Dies". The New York Times.
11. "The 37th Academy Awards (1965) Nominees and Winners". [[Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences]].
12. "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1966". [[British Academy Film Awards]].
13. "Nominees and Recipients – 1984 Awards". [[Drama Desk Award]]s.
14. "Lila Kedrova". [[Golden Globe Awards]].
15. "1984 Tony Awards". [[Tony Awards]].