Short Info

DiedJuly 13, 1945, Los Angeles, California, United States
SpouseCharles Bryant, Sergei Golovin
Fact(1912-1925) Partner was Charles Bryant.
PaymentsEarned $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.

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).

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 NameAlla Nazimova
DiedJuly 13, 1945, Los Angeles, California, United States
Height1.6 m
ProfessionActor, Pin-up model, Film producer, Screenwriter
EducationMoscow Art Theatre

Family

SpouseCharles Bryant, Sergei Golovin
ParentsYakov Leventon, Sonya Horowitz

Accomplishments

MoviesSalomé, 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

TitleSalary
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
1Studied dramatics at the Conservatory at Odessa in 1892.
2She made $100,000 touring in "War Brides" and an additional $60,000 for the film version.
31919's "The Brat" was the first time Nazimova played an American character either on stage or screen.
4Liked to play dual-roles such as in "The Red Lantern.".
5Broadway's 39th Street Playhouse was originally known as The Nazimova Theater.
6First student of Konstantin Stanislavski to star on the American stage and screen.
7She was taught English in six months by actress Caroline Harris, mother of silent screen star Richard Barthelmess.
8She was godmother to First Lady Nancy Reagan (aka Nancy Reagan) and aunt to producer Val Lewton.
9She became an American citizen in 1927.
10With 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.
12Lived on the corner of Sunset Blvd. and North Crescent Heights Blvd. in what is now West Hollywood.
13Considered the supreme interpreter of Henrik Ibsen of her day.
14Breast-cancer survivor.
15Born to a Jewish family in Yalta, Ukraine.
16Stage actress and screenwriter.
17Interred at Forest Lawn (Glendale), Glendale, California, USA, in the Whispering Pines section.
18Known during her heyday simply as "Nazimova."

Pictures

Movies

Actress

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Since You Went Away1944Zofia Koslowska (as Nazimova)
In Our Time1944Zofia Orwid (as Nazimova)
The Bridge of San Luis Rey1944Doña Maria - The Marquesa (as Nazimova)
Blood and Sand1941Senora Augustias (as Nazimova)
Escape1940Emmy Ritter (as Nazimova)
My Son1925Ana Silva
The Redeeming Sin1925Joan (as Nazimova)
Madonna of the Streets1924Mary Carlson / Mary Ainsleigh (as Nazimova)
Salomé1922Salome - Stepdaughter of Herod (as Nazimova)
A Doll's House1922Nora Helmer
Camille1921Marguerite Gautier (as Nazimova)
Billions1920Princess Triloff (as Nazimova)
Madame Peacock1920Jane Goring / Gloria Cromwell (as Nazimova)
The Heart of a Child1920Sally Snape (as Nazimova)
Stronger Than Death1920Sigrid Fersen
The Brat1919The Brat
The Red Lantern1919Mahlee & Blanche Sackville
Out of the Fog1919Faith & Eve
Eye for Eye1918Hassouna (as Nazimova)
A Woman of France1918Short
Toys of Fate1918Zorah / Hagah
Revelation1918Joline (as Nazimova)
War Brides1916Joan

Producer

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Salomé1922producer
A Doll's House1922producer
Madame Peacock1920producer - as Nazimova
The Heart of a Child1920producer - as Nazimova
Stronger Than Death1920producer
The Brat1919producer
Eye for Eye1918producer

Writer

TitleYearStatusCharacter
A Doll's House1922as Peter M. Winter
Billions1920titles - as Nazimova
Madame Peacock1920adaptation - as Nazimova
The Brat1919writer

Director

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Salomé1922uncredited
Eye for Eye1918co-director - as Nazimova

Editor

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Billions1920as Nazimova

Miscellaneous

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Zaza1938production consultant

Self

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 151922Documentary shortHerself
Screen Snapshots, Series 1, No. 141920Documentary shortHerself
Screen Snapshots, Series 1, No. 11920Documentary shortHerself

Archive Footage

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Alla Nazimova and Rudolph Valentino2000TV Short documentaryHerself
Before Stonewall1984DocumentarySalome (uncredited)
Hollywood1980TV Mini-Series documentaryHerself
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino1961Video documentaryHerself
The Miracle of Sound1940Documentary shortHerself (as Nazimova)

Awards

Won Awards

YearAwardCeremonyNominationMovie
1960Star on the Walk of FameWalk of FameMotion PictureOn 8 February 1960. At 6933 Hollywood Blvd.

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia

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