Lila Kedrova

Yelizaveta Nikolaevna Kedrova (Template:Langx; 9 October 1909<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> – 16 February 2000), known as Lila Kedrova, was a Russian-French<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> actress of the screen and stage. For her portrayal of Madame Hortense in Zorba the Greek (1964), she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She later won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for the same role in the musical stage version of the film in 1984.<ref name=bio/>

Early life

Yelizaveta Nikolayevna Kedrova was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. During her life, her birth date was often reported as 9 October 1918.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, her gravestone gives her birth date 9 October 1909.<ref name=":0" />

Kedorva 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> During this time, she also married actor-director Pierre Valde.<ref name=":1" />

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.<ref name="Osborne">Template:Cite book</ref> Despite being a relative unknown internationally, director Michael Cacoyannis reached out to her personally.<ref name=":1" /> 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.<ref name=":1" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Personal life

Kedrova's second husband was Canadian stage director Richard Howard (1932–2017).<ref>Obituary of Richard Howard, dignitymemorial.com. Accessed 3 January 2024.</ref> She retired from acting in the mid-1990s due to Alzheimer's disease.<ref name="bio" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

In 2000, Kedrova died at her summer home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, of pneumonia.<ref name=bio>Template:Cite news</ref> Her remains were cremated, and her ashes are buried in her family grave in the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery in Paris.<ref name=":0" />

Filmography

List of acting performances in film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1938	Ultimatum	Irina	as Lila Kédrova
1953	No Way Back	Ljuba
1954	Template:Sortname		Uncredited
1954	Flesh and the Woman	Rose
1955	Template:Sortname	Mme. Denis, la concierge
1955	Template:Sortname	Le femme de Bastien	Uncredited
1955	Razzia sur la chnouf	Léa
1955	Futures vedettes	Mme. Dimater, Sophie's mother
1956	Template:Sortname	Mme. Vacopoulos
1956	Calle Mayor	Pepita
1957	Until the Last One	Marcella Bastia
1957	Ce joli monde	Léa
1958	The Lovers of Montparnasse	Mme. Sborowsky
1959	La Femme et le Pantin	Manuela
1959	Jons und Erdme
1959	Mon pote le gitan	La Choute
1963	Kriss Romani	Kirvi
1964	Template:Sortname	La mère de Massa
1964	Zorba the Greek	Madame Hortense
1965	Template:Sortname	Rosa, Tampico Bar Owner
1966	Torn Curtain	Countess Kuchinska
1966	Penelope	Sadaba
1967	Maigret de Pigalle	Rose Alfonsi
1967	Template:Sortname	Rosa
1968	The Girl Who Couldn't Say No	Yolanda's mother
1970	Template:Sortname	Madam Sophie
1972	Template:Sortname	Madame Olga Dubillard
1972	Rak	Template:Sortname
1972	Escape to the Sun	Sarah Kaplan
1974	Soft Beds, Hard Battles	Madame Grenier
1974	Alla mia cara mamma nel giorno del suo compleanno	Countess Mafalda
1975	Footprints on the Moon	Mrs. Heim, Old woman on the beach
1975	The Cursed Medallion	Contessa Cappelli
1975	Eliza's Horoscope	Lila
1976	Template:Sortname	Madame Gaderian
1977	Moi, fleur bleue	Countess de Tocqueville
1977	Nido de Viudas	Mother	US: Widow's Nest
1978	Template:Sortname	Camille Chevallier
1979	Template:Sortname	Olga
1979	Template:Sortname	Charlotte
1979	Womanlight	Sonia Tovalski
1980	Les Parents terribles	Yvonne
1980	Tell Me a Riddle	Eva
1981	Il Turno	Maria
1982	Blood Tide	Sister Anna
1983	Testament		Uncredited
1984	Sword of the Valiant	Lady of Lyonesse
1988	Some Girls	Granny
1988	Two Men	Rose
1991	A Star for Two	Simone
1993	Next Time the Fire	Mother

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Nominated work	Results	Ref.
Academy Awards	1964	Best Supporting Actress	Zorba the Greek	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
British Academy Film Awards	1965	Best Foreign Actress		Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Canadian Film Awards	1975	Best Supporting Actress	Eliza's Horoscope	Template:Won
Drama Desk Awards	1984	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical	Zorba	Template:WonTemplate:Efn	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Golden Globe Awards	1964	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture	Zorba the Greek	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Laurel Awards	1964	Supporting Performance – Female		Template:Draw
		New Faces – Female		Template:Draw
Taormina International Film Festival	1981	Best Actress	Tell Me a Riddle	Template:Won
Tony Awards	1984	Best Featured Actress in a Musical	Zorba	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• List of Russian Academy Award winners and nominees
• List of French Academy Award winners and nominees
• List of actors with Academy Award nominations

External links

• Template:IBDB name
• Template:IMDb name