Short Info
Died | July 13, 1945, Los Angeles, California, United States |
Spouse | Charles Bryant, Sergei Golovin |
Fact | (1912-1925) Partner was Charles Bryant. |
Payments | Earned $60,000 from War Brides (1916) |
Alla Nazimova was born in Yalta, Crimea on June 3, 1879. Her parents were Jewish and her father was a tobacco merchant. Nazimova was the youngest of four children. She had two brothers, Mikhail and Leonid, and a sister, Olga.
1919: Photo of Anna Mae Wong by Alla Nazimova's Pool. https://t.co/z4hFxl7QpS pic.twitter.com/fc5UILQVud
— Alla Nazimova (@AllaNazimova) April 14, 2018
Nazimova was educated at the Imperial Lyceum for Young Noblewomen in St. Petersburg. She began her acting career while still a student, appearing in small roles at the Mariinsky Theatre.
In 1898, Nazimova made her film debut in The Queen of Spades. She quickly became one of the most popular actresses in Russia. In 1905, she starred in the film War and Peace. The film was a huge success and made her an international star.
In 1915, Nazimova moved to the United States. She signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appeared in several films, including Camille (1921) and Salome (1923).
In the 1920s, Nazimova became one of the most successful and highest-paid actresses in Hollywood. She starred in a number of successful films, including The Scarlet Empress (1932) and Our Daily Bread (1934).
Los Angeles Playbill for production of Ibsen’s “Ghosts” starring Alla Nazimova at the Biltmore Theatre, 1936: … http://t.co/yYgildrasp
— Alla Nazimova (@AllaNazimova) February 12, 2014
However, by the early 1930s, Nazimova’s career began to decline. She made a number of unsuccessful films and her personal life was plagued by scandal. In 1938, she returned to the stage in the play The Cherry Orchard. The play was a success and revived her career.
Nazimova continued to work in film and theatre until her death in 1945. She was one of the most popular actresses of her time and was highly respected by her peers.
Net worth: $5 million (at the time of her death in 1945)
Salary: $3,000 per week (in the 1920s)
Significant earnings: $250,000 for Salome (1923)
General Info
Full Name | Alla Nazimova |
Died | July 13, 1945, Los Angeles, California, United States |
Height | 1.6 m |
Profession | Actor, Pin-up model, Film producer, Screenwriter |
Education | Moscow Art Theatre |
Family
Spouse | Charles Bryant, Sergei Golovin |
Parents | Yakov Leventon, Sonya Horowitz |
Accomplishments
Movies | Salomé, Camille, The Red Lantern, Blood and Sand, Eye for Eye, Since You Went Away, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, A Doll's House, In Our Time, Escape, Revelation, Billions, Zaza, Madame Peacock, The Brat, Stronger Than Death, Out of the Fog, The Heart of a Child, My Son |
Social profile links
Salary
Title | Salary |
---|---|
Revelation (1918) | $13,000 a week |
War Brides (1916) | $60,000 |
Quotes
# | Quote |
---|---|
1 | [In 1929] I wish I could burn every inch of my films. I'm ashamed of them. |
2 | [on motion pictures in a 1916 interview] The pioneer days are now past. This is proved, not in the great mass of moving pictures we see, but the flashes of genius which show what can be done when true artists devote themselves sincerely to creative work. On the speaking stage there have always been more bad plays than good ones, but no one ever argued from this that the drama was a failure. We must always judge an art by its best examples, not by its worst, not even its second best . . . At the present the proportion of fine motion pictures to the total number produced is smaller than the proportion of masterpieces in other art, but if we pause to consider the youth of this field of endeavor, we find our criticisms answered. We must be patient. |
3 | [Upon meeting the then unknown Rudolph Valentino for the first time] How dare you bring that gigolo to my table? How dare you introduce that pimp to Nazimova? |
Facts
# | Fact |
---|---|
1 | Studied dramatics at the Conservatory at Odessa in 1892. |
2 | She made $100,000 touring in "War Brides" and an additional $60,000 for the film version. |
3 | 1919's "The Brat" was the first time Nazimova played an American character either on stage or screen. |
4 | Liked to play dual-roles such as in "The Red Lantern.". |
5 | Broadway's 39th Street Playhouse was originally known as The Nazimova Theater. |
6 | First student of Konstantin Stanislavski to star on the American stage and screen. |
7 | She was taught English in six months by actress Caroline Harris, mother of silent screen star Richard Barthelmess. |
8 | She was godmother to First Lady Nancy Reagan (aka Nancy Reagan) and aunt to producer Val Lewton. |
9 | She became an American citizen in 1927. |
10 | With her film career flourishing, she bought an imposing California Spanish home at 8080 Sunset Blvd., building a pool and landscaping the property's 3-1/2 acres. Named The Garden of Allah, the place became a popular place for the Hollywood elite. Eventually she lost the property, and when it became a residential hotel she took a small room in the house that had once been her home. |
11 | (1912-1925) Partner was Charles Bryant. |
12 | Lived on the corner of Sunset Blvd. and North Crescent Heights Blvd. in what is now West Hollywood. |
13 | Considered the supreme interpreter of Henrik Ibsen of her day. |
14 | Breast-cancer survivor. |
15 | Born to a Jewish family in Yalta, Ukraine. |
16 | Stage actress and screenwriter. |
17 | Interred at Forest Lawn (Glendale), Glendale, California, USA, in the Whispering Pines section. |
18 | Known during her heyday simply as "Nazimova." |
Pictures
Movies
Actress
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Since You Went Away | 1944 | Zofia Koslowska (as Nazimova) | |
In Our Time | 1944 | Zofia Orwid (as Nazimova) | |
The Bridge of San Luis Rey | 1944 | Doña Maria - The Marquesa (as Nazimova) | |
Blood and Sand | 1941 | Senora Augustias (as Nazimova) | |
Escape | 1940 | Emmy Ritter (as Nazimova) | |
My Son | 1925 | Ana Silva | |
The Redeeming Sin | 1925 | Joan (as Nazimova) | |
Madonna of the Streets | 1924 | Mary Carlson / Mary Ainsleigh (as Nazimova) | |
Salomé | 1922 | Salome - Stepdaughter of Herod (as Nazimova) | |
A Doll's House | 1922 | Nora Helmer | |
Camille | 1921 | Marguerite Gautier (as Nazimova) | |
Billions | 1920 | Princess Triloff (as Nazimova) | |
Madame Peacock | 1920 | Jane Goring / Gloria Cromwell (as Nazimova) | |
The Heart of a Child | 1920 | Sally Snape (as Nazimova) | |
Stronger Than Death | 1920 | Sigrid Fersen | |
The Brat | 1919 | The Brat | |
The Red Lantern | 1919 | Mahlee & Blanche Sackville | |
Out of the Fog | 1919 | Faith & Eve | |
Eye for Eye | 1918 | Hassouna (as Nazimova) | |
A Woman of France | 1918 | Short | |
Toys of Fate | 1918 | Zorah / Hagah | |
Revelation | 1918 | Joline (as Nazimova) | |
War Brides | 1916 | Joan |
Producer
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Salomé | 1922 | producer | |
A Doll's House | 1922 | producer | |
Madame Peacock | 1920 | producer - as Nazimova | |
The Heart of a Child | 1920 | producer - as Nazimova | |
Stronger Than Death | 1920 | producer | |
The Brat | 1919 | producer | |
Eye for Eye | 1918 | producer |
Writer
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
A Doll's House | 1922 | as Peter M. Winter | |
Billions | 1920 | titles - as Nazimova | |
Madame Peacock | 1920 | adaptation - as Nazimova | |
The Brat | 1919 | writer |
Director
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Salomé | 1922 | uncredited | |
Eye for Eye | 1918 | co-director - as Nazimova |
Editor
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Billions | 1920 | as Nazimova |
Miscellaneous
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Zaza | 1938 | production consultant |
Self
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 15 | 1922 | Documentary short | Herself |
Screen Snapshots, Series 1, No. 14 | 1920 | Documentary short | Herself |
Screen Snapshots, Series 1, No. 1 | 1920 | Documentary short | Herself |
Archive Footage
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Alla Nazimova and Rudolph Valentino | 2000 | TV Short documentary | Herself |
Before Stonewall | 1984 | Documentary | Salome (uncredited) |
Hollywood | 1980 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Herself |
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino | 1961 | Video documentary | Herself |
The Miracle of Sound | 1940 | Documentary short | Herself (as Nazimova) |
Awards
Won Awards
Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Motion Picture | On 8 February 1960. At 6933 Hollywood Blvd. |
Source: IMDb, Wikipedia