Pola Negri

Pola Negri was a famous Polish actress and singer who became well-known around the world during the early days of movies. She was born Barbara Apolonia Chałupiec on January 3, 1897, and grew up in Poland. Her life was difficult as a child because her father was sent away to Siberia, and she had to live with her mother in poverty. She also got very sick with tuberculosis as a teenager but recovered.

Negri studied ballet and acting in Warsaw and became a popular stage actress. In 1917, she moved to Germany and started acting in silent films. Her performances caught the attention of Hollywood, and in 1922 she signed with Paramount Pictures, becoming the first European actress to work in Hollywood. She was very popular in the 1920s, known for her dramatic and mysterious roles.

When movies started talking, Negri returned to Europe and continued making films while also starting a career as a recording artist. She made only a few films after 1940, with her last one being in Walt Disney's The Moon-Spinners in 1964. Later in life, she lived quietly in San Antonio, Texas, and became a U.S. citizen in 1951. She passed away in 1987 at the age of 90.

Early life

Pola Negri was born Barbara Apolonia Chałupiec on 3 January 1897 in Lipno, Congress Poland, Russian Empire (now Lipno, Poland). She was the only surviving child of three. Her mother, Eleonora Kiełczewska, came from a family that once had money but lost it because they supported Napoléon Bonaparte. When her father was arrested and sent away, she and her mother moved to Warsaw. There, her mother worked as a cook to support them.

Barbara grew up in the Catholic faith. As a young girl, she joined a ballet school in Warsaw. She danced in danse des petits cygnes in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and later performed a solo in the Saint-Léon ballet Coppélia. But she got very sick with tuberculosis and had to stop dancing. She went to a health place in Zakopane to get better. While she was there, she chose the name Pola Negri, inspired by an Italian writer named Ada Negri. "Pola" was a shorter version of her real name, Apolonia.

Career

Pola Negri was a famous Polish actress who became well-known during the early days of film. She started her career in Polish theaters and films before moving to Germany, where she worked with director Ernst Lubitsch. Her performances in German films were very popular and caught the attention of Hollywood.

Negri signed a contract with Paramount Pictures and became one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses in the 1920s. She was known for her glamorous style and helped start several fashion trends. Although she was very successful, some of her later films were not as well-received. After leaving Hollywood, she returned to Germany and then moved back to the United States during World War II. Negri appeared in a few more films and retired from acting in the 1940s. She lived until 1987 and was remembered for her contributions to early cinema.

Personal life

Pola Negri had several well-known relationships with famous people. She first married Count Eugeniusz Dąbski in 1919, but they divorced in 1922. Later, she had notable friendships and relationships with famous actors like Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino.

She married again to Serge Mdivani in 1927, but they divorced in 1931. During her time in the United States, she became friends with Margaret West, and they lived together for many years. Negri became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1951 and spent her later years out of the public eye.

Death

Pola Negri passed away on 1 August 1987 at the age of 90 in a hospital in San Antonio, Texas. She had been ill with pneumonia and also had a health issue she chose not to treat.

After her passing, she was laid to rest next to her mother in Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles. She left behind many things to help others, including giving part of her collection to a university in Texas and supporting a group of nuns in Poland.

Legacy

Pola Negri has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her work in movies at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard. She was the 11th star in Hollywood history to leave her hand and foot prints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. She also has a star in Poland's Walk of Fame in Łódź, and Poland's post office made a stamp to honor her in 1996. The Polish Film Festival of Los Angeles gives out the Pola Negri Award to top film artists, and the Pola Negri Museum in Lipno gives a special award called the Polita to artists who have done great work.

Her image, along with two other famous actresses, appears in the logo of the Chicago International Film Festival. In 2006, a full-length movie about her life, Pola Negri: Life Is a Dream in Cinema, was shown for the first time. The movie was made by her biographer, Mariusz Kotowski, and includes interviews with famous actors Hayley Mills and Eli Wallach.

Negri’s stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in the Walk of Fame in Łódź, Poland

Negri appeared briefly in the TV movie _Young Indiana Jones and the Hollywood Follies. In the movie, Indiana Jones and Claire Lieberman see her dancing at a Hollywood party.

Filmography

In Congress Poland and Regency Kingdom

In Germany (silent period)

Paramount period

International (sound period)

Last films (U.S.)

Discography

Pola Negri released ten 78 rpm singles during her career. In 1931, she recorded seven gypsy folk songs in London, which were released on three records by Victor's His Master's Voice. In 1933, she recorded a French version of the song "Paradise" in Paris. The rest of her recordings, made between 1935 and 1938, were songs she performed in her German films.