Yelizaveta Nikolaevna Kedrova (; 9 October 1909[
]
Early life
Yelizaveta Nikolayevna Kedrova was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. During her life, her birth date was often reported as 9 October 1918.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Personal life
Kedrova's second husband was Canadian stage director Richard Howard (1932–2017).[ Obituary of Richard Howard, dignitymemorial.com. Accessed 3 January 2024.] She retired from acting in the mid-1990s due to Alzheimer's disease.
Death
In 2000, Kedrova died at her summer home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, of pneumonia.
Filmography
|
| 1938
! scope="row" | Ultimatum | Irina | as Lila Kédrova |
| 1953
! scope="row" | No Way Back | Ljuba | |
| 1954
! scope="row" | | | Uncredited |
| 1954
! scope="row" | Flesh and the Woman | Rose | |
| 1955
! scope="row" | | Mme. Denis, la concierge | |
| 1955
! scope="row" | | Le femme de Bastien | Uncredited |
| 1955
! scope="row" | Razzia sur la chnouf | Léa | |
| 1955
! scope="row" | Futures vedettes | Mme. Dimater, Sophie's mother | |
| 1956
! scope="row" | | Mme. Vacopoulos | |
| 1956
! scope="row" | Calle Mayor | Pepita | |
| 1957
! scope="row" | Until the Last One | Marcella Bastia | |
| 1957
! scope="row" | Ce joli monde | Léa | |
| 1958
! scope="row" | The Lovers of Montparnasse | Mme. Sborowsky | |
| 1959
! scope="row" | La Femme et le Pantin | Manuela | |
| 1959
! scope="row" | Jons und Erdme | | |
| 1959
! scope="row" | Mon pote le gitan | La Choute | |
| 1963
! scope="row" | Kriss Romani | Kirvi | |
| 1964
! scope="row" | | La mère de Massa | |
| 1964
! scope="row" | Zorba the Greek | Madame Hortense | |
| 1965
! scope="row" | | Rosa, Tampico Bar Owner | |
| 1966
! scope="row" | Torn Curtain | Countess Kuchinska | |
| 1966
! scope="row" | Penelope | Sadaba | |
| 1967
! scope="row" | Maigret de Pigalle | Rose Alfonsi | |
| 1967
! scope="row" | | Rosa | |
| 1968
! scope="row" | The Girl Who Couldn't Say No | Yolanda's mother | |
| 1970
! scope="row" | | Madam Sophie | |
| 1972
! scope="row" | | Madame Olga Dubillard | |
| 1972
! scope="row" | Rak | | |
| 1972
! scope="row" | Escape to the Sun | Sarah Kaplan | |
| 1974
! scope="row" | Soft Beds, Hard Battles | Madame Grenier | |
| 1974
! scope="row" | Alla mia cara mamma nel giorno del suo compleanno | Countess Mafalda | |
| 1975
! scope="row" | Footprints on the Moon | Mrs. Heim, Old woman on the beach | |
| 1975
! scope="row" | The Cursed Medallion | Contessa Cappelli | |
| 1975
! scope="row" | Eliza's Horoscope | Lila | |
| 1976
! scope="row" | | Madame Gaderian | |
| 1977
! scope="row" | Moi, fleur bleue | Countess de Tocqueville | |
| 1977
! scope="row" | Nido de Viudas | Mother | US: Widow's Nest |
| 1978
! scope="row" | | Camille Chevallier | |
| 1979
! scope="row" | | Olga | |
| 1979
! scope="row" | | Charlotte | |
| 1979
! scope="row" | Womanlight | Sonia Tovalski | |
| 1980
! scope="row" | Les Parents terribles | Yvonne | |
| 1980
! scope="row" | Tell Me a Riddle | Eva | |
| 1981
! scope="row" | Il Turno | Maria | |
| 1982
! scope="row" | Blood Tide | Sister Anna | |
| 1983
! scope="row" | Testament | | Uncredited |
| 1984
! scope="row" | Sword of the Valiant | Lady of Lyonesse | |
| 1988
! scope="row" | Some Girls | Granny | |
| 1988
! scope="row" | Two Men | Rose | |
| 1991
! scope="row" | A Star for Two | Simone | |
| 1993
! scope="row" | Next Time the Fire | Mother | |
Awards and nominations
|
|
| Academy Awards | 1964 | Best Supporting Actress | Zorba the Greek | | |
| British Academy Film Awards | 1965 | Best Foreign Actress | | |
| Canadian Film Awards | 1975 | Best Supporting Actress | Eliza's Horoscope | | |
| Drama Desk Awards | 1984 | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Zorba | | |
| Golden Globe Awards | 1964 | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | Zorba the Greek | | |
| Laurel Awards | 1964 | Supporting Performance – Female | | |
| New Faces – Female | |
| Taormina International Film Festival | 1981 | Best Actress | Tell Me a Riddle | | |
| Tony Awards | 1984 | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | Zorba | | |
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
Notes
External links
