23 Best ex-Yugoslavian actresses of all time
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Born in Belgrade, Dravic was involved with the performing arts from the age of four: first with dance and later classical ballet. In 1959, while in high school, director Frantisek Cap saw her on the cover of a youth magazine in a ballet dancers group photo and decided on the spot to approach her about being in his film Vrata ostaju otvorena. After appearing in few more films she decided to pursue acting full-time and successfully enrolled in Belgrade's Dramatic Arts Academy.
Her big break came in 1962 when she won the Golden Arena for Best Actress award (which was the Yugoslav equivalent of Academy Award) for her role in Branko Bauer's film Prekobrojna. This was the moment that sent her on the way to becoming Yugoslavia's first and arguably the biggest female movie star.
Milena Dravic continued with long and prolific career during which she showed great talent and versatility. She was equally memorable and believable as the tragic heroine in state-sponsored World War II epics, eccentric protagonist of experimental art-house films like WR: Mysteries of the Organism and romantic comedies. She especially excelled in the latter during the 1970s and 1980s. She won the Cannes Best Supporting Actress Award in 1980 for Special Treatment.
For her roles and contributions to domestic cinematography, she received the prestigious Pavle Vujisic Award in August 1994.- Neda Arneric was born on 15 July 1953 in Knjazevac, Serbia, Yugoslavia. She was an actress, known for Stand Up Straight, Delfina (1977), Aloa: Festivity of the Whores (1988) and Shaft in Africa (1973). She was married to Milorad Mesterovic, Dejan Karaklajic and Rade Markovic. She died on 10 January 2020 in Belgrade, Serbia.
- Mia Oremovic was born on 31 July 1918 in Slavonska Pozega, Austria-Hungary [now Croatia]. She was an actress, known for I Have Two Mothers and Two Fathers (1968), One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away (1970) and U oluji (1952). She was married to Vojko Trs. She died on 24 July 2010 in Krizevci, Croatia.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Olivera Markovic has prevailed in the Yugoslav theater, film and television scene since she first appeared in modern American stage plays by such authors as Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams and William Inge in the early 1950s, and was also able to impress audiences and critics alike in more light-hearted roles.
In addition, she has figured in plays by Labiche and Priestly, Shaw and William Shakespeare, Goldoni and Dostoyevsky, Anouilh and O'Neil and Moliere and Chekov including "The Three Sisters", "Crime and Punishment" and "Marriage" by Gogolj, more often than not at the Belgrade Drama Theatre and the National Theatre.
She appeared in over a hundred stage plays, was the star of many popular television series such as A Better Life (1987) , and acted in 74 feature films:Vlak bez voznog reda (1959), Boom Town (1961), Drug predsednik centarfor (1960), to name but a few. She was also well-known as a singer of Russian romances.
After some time away from films, she returned more recently as a special guest star in Peasants (2001) and Frozen Stiff (2002).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Sylva Koscina was born on 22 August 1933 in Zagreb, Croatia, Yugoslavia [now Zagreb, Croatia]. She was an actress, known for Hercules (1958), Hornets' Nest (1970) and Judex (1963). She was married to Raimondo Castelli. She died on 26 December 1994 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- A leading actress of theatre, film and TV in the former Yugoslavia, Mira Furlan emigrated to the U.S. with her husband, Goran Gajic, in November 1991, due to the intolerable political circumstances in her homeland. Ms. Furlan starred in the Warner Brothers TV series Babylon 5 (1993) as "Ambassador Delenn" (Sci-Fi Universe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Genre TV-series 1996 and 1997).
Her other American credits included the TV movie My Antonia (1995) directed by Joseph Sargent, the title roles in "Sophocles Antigone" at the Hudson Guild Theatre in Los Angeles (Dramalogue Theatre Award for Outstanding Performance in 1995) and Lorca's "Yerma" at The Indiana Repertory Theatre. She also appeared in Brecht's "Baal" at The Second Stage in Los Angeles and Shaw's "Don Juan In Hell" in which she co-starred with Edward Asner and Rene Auberjonois. Ms. Furlan was a member of The Actor's Studio.
Ms. Furlan's film credits include leading roles in over 25 films. She co-starred in Emir Kusturica's Cannes award-winning and Oscar-nominated film When Father Was Away On Business (2000). Films include: Three For Happiness, (Grand Prix, Valencia Film Festival), Beauty Of Vice, In The Jaws Of Life, The Loves Of Blanka Kolak, and Dear Video. In addition, Ms Furlan has appeared regularly on Yugoslav television, playing leading roles in numerous series and TV films. She received all the highest awards in her former country, both for her stage and film work, including two Golden Arenas (Yugoslav Oscars) for Best Actress.
In the former Yugoslavia, Furlan was a member of the Croatian National Theatre and a frequent guest star at major theatres in the whole country. Her favorite roles include: 'Natalya' in "A Month In The Country", 'Mrs. Elliot' in "Alpha-Beta", 'Celimene' in "The Misanthrope", 'Judith' in "The Devil's Disciple", 'Annabella' in "Tis Pity She's A Whore", the title role in Euripides' "Helen", 'Lea' in "Dybbuk", 'Isabelle' in Corneille's "L'Illusion Comique", 'Yvette' in "Mother Courage", 'Natasha' in "Three Sisters" and 'Ophelia' in Jiri Menzel's production of "Hamlet". - Svetlana Bojkovic was born on 14 December 1947 in Zemun, Serbia, Yugoslavia. She is an actress, known for Pas koji je voleo vozove (1977), A Better Life (1987) and Srecni ljudi (1993). She has been married to Slavko Kruljevic since 2010. She was previously married to Ljubomir Draskic and Milos Zutic.
- Actress
- Writer
Mira continues active as an Actor and Story teller and live stage performances. Mira traveled to Canada with Jovan Radovanovic and performed on live stage in 2001 in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver B.C. Mira's Film and Television appearances spanned over many generations and stood the test of time. Like the Timex, she takes the licking and keeps on ticking.- Jelisaveta 'Seka' Sablic was born on 13 June 1942 in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia. She is an actress, known for Maratonci trce pocasni krug (1982), Srecni ljudi (1993) and A Weekend of Deceased Persons (1988).
- Actress
- Producer
Ljiljana Blagojevic was born on 5 November 1955 in Zemun, Serbia, Yugoslavia. She is an actress and producer, known for Do You Remember Dolly Bell? (1981), Kljun (2021) and A Better Life (1987). She is married to Sinisa Kovacevic. They have one child.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born in Belgrade, Serbia and raised in Frankfurt, Anica Dobra calls both Germany and the Balkans her home. Being a thoroughbred actress and having enjoyed the best in stage- and on-camera training, Anica Dobra is very busy working in both countries. She became well-known in the 1990s in Germany when she worked together with the finest of directors mainly in comedies for the big screen but also in crime and drama feature films for TV. During that time, which was marked by intense political upheaval in the Balkans, she exhibited her remarkable talent in that region by portraying heavily conflicted protagonists. Her characters take control in a straightforward, hard-hitting, and pugnacious manner. She was awarded Best Actress several times. Anica Dobra is a frequent traveler since her family lives in Belgrade and she herself is a star in Serbia. But she also feels drawn to Munich, Germany which is her second home. Audiences love her for her unconventional beauty and charming wit. Here in Germany we've come to picturing her playing in films that allow fresh subject matters to be tackled from a humorous point of view.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Mirjana Karanovic was born on 28 January 1957 in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia. She is an actress and director, known for A Good Wife (2016), Grbavica (2006) and Requiem for Mrs. J (2017).- Mirjana Jokovic was born on 24 November 1967 in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia. She is an actress, known for Maid in Manhattan (2002), At Middleton (2013) and Eversmile New Jersey (1989). She is married to Srdjan Milenkovic.
- Lolita Davidovich was born on 15 July 1961 in London, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress, known for Hollywood Homicide (2003), Blaze (1989) and Adventures in Babysitting (1987). She has been married to Ron Shelton since 1997. They have one child.
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Milla Jovovich is a Ukrainian-American actress, supermodel, fashion designer, singer and public figure, who was on the cover of more than a hundred magazines, and starred in such films as The Fifth Element (1997), Ultraviolet (2006), and the Resident Evil (2002) franchise.
Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich was born on December 17, 1975 in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now in Ukraine). Her Serbian father, Bogdan Jovovich, was a medical doctor in Kyiv. There, he met her mother, Galina Jovovich (née Loginova), a Russian actress. At the age of 5, in 1981, Milla emigrated with her parents from the Soviet Union, moving first to London, UK, then to Sacramento, California, and eventually settled in Los Angeles. There her parents worked as house cleaners for the household of director Brian De Palma. Her parents separated, and eventually divorced, because her father was arrested and spent several years in prison.
Young Milla Jovovich was brought up by her single mother in Los Angeles. In addition to her native Ukrainian, she also speaks Russian and English. However, in spite of her cosmopolitan background, Milla was ostracized by some of her classmates, as a kid who emigrated from the Soviet Union amidst the paranoia of the Cold War. Many emotional scars had affected her behavior, but she eventually emerged as a resilient, multi-talented, albeit rebellious and risk-taking girl. She was coached by her actress mother since her childhood, first at home, then studied music, ballet, and acting in Los Angeles.
She shot to international fame after she was spotted by the photographer Richard Avedon at the age of 11, and was featured in Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements, and on the cover of the Italian fashion magazine 'Lei' which was her first cover shoot. She made her first professional model contract at the age of 12, and soon made it to the cover of 'The Face', 'Vogue', 'Cosmopolitan' and many other magazines. In 1994, she appeared on the cover of 'High Times' in the UK, at the age of 18. The total number of her magazine covers worldwide was over one hundred by 2004, and keeps counting. In 2004, she made $10.4 million, becoming the highest paid supermodel in the world.
Milla appeared in ad campaigns for Chanel, Versace, Emporio Armani, Donna Karen, DKNY, Celine, P&K, H&H, and continues her role as the worldwide spokesperson and model for L'Oreal. Thanks to their continued success with Milla, Giorgio Armani chose her to be the face of his fragrance, Night. In addition to Armani's fragrance, Milla was the face for Calvin Klein's Obsession and Christian Dior's Poison for over 10 years and has most recently become the new face for Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist fragrance, which debuts in August 2009. Milla continues to shoot with the fashion industry's most sought after photographers, including Peter Lindbergh, Mario Sorrenti, Craig McDean and Inez & Vinoodh.
Milla made her acting debut in the Disney Channel movie The Night Train to Kathmandu (1988) and she made guest appearances on television series including Married... with Children (1987) (in 1989 as a French exchange student), Paradise (1988) and Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1990). In 1988, at age 12, she made her film debut credited as Milla in a supporting role in Two Moon Junction (1988) by writer/director Zalman King. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she played several supporting roles as a teenage actress in film and on television, then starred in Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991). In 1997, she co-starred opposite Bruce Willis in the sci-fi blockbuster The Fifth Element (1997), then she starred as the title character of The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999).
In the early 2000s, Milla had a few years of uncertainty in her acting career due to the uneven quality of her films, as well as some hectic events in her private life. She appeared with Mel Gibson in Wim Wenders' The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. She went on to co-star with Wes Bentley and Sarah Polley in The Claim (2000) and in Ben Stiller's spoof of the world of models and high-fashion, Zoolander (2001).
Milla achieved box office success in the U.S. and around the world with the action-packed thriller, Resident Evil (2002), based on the wildly popular video game, Resident Evil. It was written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Milla reprised her role as the zombie slaying heroine, Alice, in Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), and again in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) A seventh resident Evil movie is in pre-production.
She received glowing reviews opposite Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Illeana Douglas in Dummy (2002) which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. In the spring of 2006, Milla returned to the big screen as action heroine, Violet, in the futuristic film Ultraviolet (2006) directed by Kurt Wimmer.
Focusing on her personal sense of style, her love of fashion led Milla and her friend and business partner, Carmen Hawk, to launch their Jovovich-Hawk clothing line, which achieved instant acclaim in the domestic and international fashion world. The fresh, unique line garnered the attention of red carpet watchers and fashion magazines, including American Vogue, who featured Jovovich-Hawk on their coveted list of "10 Things to Watch Out for in 2005." A student of voice and guitar since she was very young, Milla began writing songs for her first record at the age of 15.
Her first album, "The Divine Comedy", was released by EMI Records in 1994. Informed by her experiences as a child growing up as a Russian emigrant in the Red-bashing Reagan era, the introspective European-folkish debut drew favorable reviews for Milla's songwriting and performing. She continues to write music, and has had songs featured on several film soundtracks. She has been writing music and lyrics to her song-demos, playing her guitar and sampling other sounds from her computer, and allowing free download and remix of her songs from her website.
Charitable work also plays a major part in Milla's life. She has served as Master of Ceremonies and co-chaired with Elizabeth Taylor for the amfAR and Cinema Against AIDS event at the Venice Film Festival, and has been heavily involved with The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, as well as The Wildlands Project.
For many years Milla Jovovich has been maintaining a healthier lifestyle, practicing yoga and meditation, trying to avoid junk food, and cooking for herself. Since she was a little girl, Milla has been writing a private diary, a habit she learned from her mother. She has been keeping a record of many good and bad facts of her life, her travels, her relationships, and all important ideas and events in her career, planning eventually to publish an autobiography. After dissolution of her two previous marriages, Milla Jovovich became engaged to film director Paul W.S. Anderson; their daughter, Ever Anderson, was born on November 3, 2007. They got married on August 22, 2009. Their second daughter, Dashiel Edan, was born on April 1, 2015.- Natasa Janjic-Medancic is a Croatian film, stage and television actress. As a child, she studied at the Youth Theater in Split. After finishing school in 2000, she went on to studying journalism and acting in Zagreb. During her studies at the Academy of Dramatic Arts she played the following roles: Julia from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", Elektra, Queen Maria from "The King Dies" by E. Ionesco, Christine from "Hotel Bellevue" by O. von Horvath, Melita from Krleza's "Leda", Solveig and Anitra from "Peer Gynt", Kate from "The Taming of the Shrew". She graduated with the role of Martha from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" by E. Albee, in the class of Borna Baletic, in 2004.
Since 2006 she has been a permanent member of the ensemble GDK "Gavella" in Zagreb.
At the end of December 2018 , she married orthopedist Nenad Medancic , taking his last name. - Born and raised in Rijeka, Ksenija Pajic began his acting career by enrolling in Drama Academy in Zagreb in 1979. She graduated in 1984 and joined "Teatar u gostima" theatre company. Three years later she got a leading role in The Officer with a Rose (1987) and joined Gavella Theatre in Zagreb. In 1991 she married Emil Vukov, piano player, and gave birth to their daughter, Vita.
- Nada Sargin was born on 19 January 1977 in Zrenjanin, Serbia, Yugoslavia. She is an actress, known for Tomorrow Morning (2006), Kalup (2020) and Ulica lipa (2008). She is married to Lazar Bodroza. They have one child.
- Born in Metkovic. She graduated in 1976 from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb. Since then she continues to act at numerous theaters in Zagreb. She has appeared, both as a lead and supporting role, in many national film productions and serials. Vera Zima has been awarded for her roles in the theater (The Inn-keeper directed by Josko Juvancic, The Ballads of Petrica Kerempuh directed by Rade Serbedzija) as well as on screen (The Snowstorm directed by Antun Vrdoljak, Sorry for kung-fu by Ognjen Svilicic...) She has participated as a jury member in numerous film festivals.
- Actress
- Producer
Natasa Ninkovic was born on 22 July 1972 in Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia. She is an actress and producer, known for Savior (1998), The Trap (2007) and Ajvar (2019). She is married to Nenad Sarenac. They have two children.- Mila Elegovic is a Croatia theater, television and film actress and singer. She graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Ballet School. She is known for many roles, both theatrical and television, including the role of Irena Grobnik in the series "Bitange i princeze". She has also played numerous roles in radio dramas of the Drama Program of the Croatian Radio. He is working at the Zagreb Comedy Theater.
- Actress
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Nina Violic was born on 15 March 1972 in Rijeka, Croatia. She is an actress and director, known for Kick and Scream (2022), Blagajnica hoce ici na more (2000) and Odvajanje (2015). She has been married to Tvrtko Juric since 2001. They have one child.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Leona Paraminski is a European movie, theatre and TV actress born in Croatia. She has appeared in over 30 films and TV shows mostly as a leading actress. She is best known for "Winter in Rio", "The Society of Jesus", "The Party" and "Budva na pjenu od mora".
She enrolled in the Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb. While she was still at university she won an award for best actress in the film Vinko na krovu. She graduated in 2001. A year later she was honored with the most significant film award in Croatia - the 'Golden Arena' - for best actress in the film Prezimiti u Riu.
Her movies have been shown on more than 200 international film festivals and were awarded more than 30 times. For her appearances Leona has been awarded the best female actress award five times. She was awarded Golden Arena for best actress, the most significant film award in Croatia, for her appearance in the film "Winter in Rio". She has also been awarded for her performances in "Vinko na krovu" at FRKA film festival, and has won three international awards for her performance in "The Party" at Capalbio Cinema ISF 2010, La Normande et le monde and Nice Short Film Festival C'est trop court 2010.
She performs frequently in the theater in leading roles that portray strong and powerful women where she collaborated, among others, with Oscar winner Jiri Menzel. She has appeared in number of TV commercials, has worked as a TV host, did voiceovers both for commercials and films and has been very active in charity. She was also a member of jury in number of occasions including the Sarajevo Film Festival 2013. Leona is a member of the Croatian National Theater.
Recently she moved to California, USA.