Lila Kedrova

Lila Kedrova
File:Lila Kedrova (1965).jpg Kedrova in 1965
Born	(1909-10-09)9 October 1909 St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died	Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1938–1994
Spouse(s)	Pierre Valde (m. 1948; div. 19??) Richard Howard (m. 1968)

Yelizaveta Nikolaevna Kedrova (Russian: Елизавета Николаевна Кедрова; 9 October 1909 – 16 February 2000), known as Lila Kedrova, was a Russian-born French actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Zorba the Greek (1964), and the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for the same role in the musical version of the film.

Life and career

Yelizaveta Nikolayevna Kedrova was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia Empire. Her parents were Russian opera singers. 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 (ru: Софья Николаевна Гладкая), was a singer at the Mariinsky Theatre and a teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris. She had two siblings. Her brother, Nikolay Kedrov Jr. (c. 1904–1981), was a Russian singer and composer of liturgical music. Her sister, Irene Kedroff (Irina Nikolayevna Kedrova), was a soprano.

Several years after the October Revolution, in 1922, 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. In 1932, Kedrova joined the Moscow Art Theatre touring company. Then her film career began, mostly in French films, until her first English-language film appearance as Madame Hortense in Zorba the Greek (1964). Her performance 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 with Judi Dench and Peter Sallis.

She then played a series of eccentric and crazy women in Hollywood films. In 1983, she reprised her role as Madame Hortense on Broadway in the musical version of Zorba the Greek, winning both a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award in the process. In 1989, she played Madame Armfeldt in the London revival of A Little Night Music.

Her second husband was Canadian stage director Richard Howard (1932–2017).

Death

In 2000, Kedrova died at her summer home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, of pneumonia, having suffered a long time with Alzheimer's disease. She was cremated. Her ashes are buried in her family grave in the Russian cemetery in Paris.

Filmography

List of acting performances in film and television

Title	Year	Role	Notes
Ultimatum	1938	Irina	as Lila Kédrova
No Way Back	1953	Ljuba
Le Défroqué	1954		Uncredited
Flesh and the Woman	1954	Rose
Les Impures	1955	Mme. Denis, la concierge
Les Chiffonniers d'Emmaus	1955	Le femme de Bastien	Uncredited
Razzia sur la chnouf	1955	Léa
Futures vedettes	1955	Mme. Dimater, Sophie's mother
Des gens sans importance	1956	Mme. Vacopoulos
Calle Mayor	1956	Pepita
Jusqu'au dernier	1957	Marcella Bastia
Ce joli monde	1957	Léa
The Lovers of Montparnasse	1958	Mme. Sborowsky
La Femme et le Pantin	1959	Manuela
Jons und Erdme	1959
Mon pote le gitan	1959	La Choute
Kriss Romani	1963	Kirvi
La Mort d'un tueur	1964	La mère de Massa
Zorba the Greek	1964	Madame Hortense	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated ･ BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress Nominated ･ Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated ･ Laurel Award for Female Supporting Performance
A High Wind in Jamaica	1965	Rosa, Tampico Bar Owner
Torn Curtain	1966	Countess Kuchinska
Penelope	1966	Sadaba
Maigret de Pigalle	1967	Rose Alfonsi
Le Canard en fer-blanc	1967	Rosa
The Girl Who Couldn't Say No	1968	Yolanda's mother
The Kremlin Letter	1970	Madam Sophie
A Time for Loving	1972	Madame Olga Dubillard
Rak	1972	La mère de David
Escape to the Sun	1972	Sarah Kaplan
Soft Beds, Hard Battles	1974	Madame Grenier
Alla mia cara mamma nel giorno del suo compleanno	1974	Countess Mafalda
Footprints on the Moon	1975	Mrs. Heim, Old woman on the beach
The Cursed Medallion	1975	Contessa Cappelli
Eliza's Horoscope	1975	Lila
The Tenant	1976	Madame Gaderian
Moi, fleur bleue	1977	Countess de Tocqueville
Nido de Viudas	1977	Mother	US: Widow's Nest
Le Paradis des riches	1978	Camille Chevallier
Le Cavaleur	1979	Olga
Les Égouts du paradis	1979	Charlotte
Womanlight	1979	Sonia Tovalski
Les Parents terribles	1980	Yvonne
Tell Me a Riddle	1980	Eva	Golden Mask Award
Il Turno	1981	Maria
Blood Tide	1982	Sister Anna
Testament	1983		Uncredited
Sword of the Valiant	1984	Lady of Lyonesse
Some Girls	1988	Granny
Two Men	1988	Rose
A Star for Two	1991	Simone
Next Time the Fire	1993	Mother

External links

• Lila Kedrova at AllMovie
• Lila Kedrova at the Internet Broadway Database
• Lila Kedrova at the Internet Movie Database