Lilita Bērziņa
Lilita Bērziņa | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lilija Davidovna Priede-Bērziņa 17 July 1903 Rīga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire |
| Died | 27 May 1983 |
| Burial place | Forest Cemetery, Riga |
| Notable work | A Limousine the Colour of Midsummer's Eve (1981) |
| Partner | Jānis Priede |
Lilija Davidovna Priede-Bērziņa, known by her stage name Lilita Bērziņa (17 July 1903 – 27 May 1983) was a Latvian stage and film actress.
Biography
Bērziņa was born on 17 July 1903 in Rīga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire. Her father Dāvis Bērziņš was a carpenter and bricklayer and her mother Zelma Bērziņa was a seamstress.[1]
Bērziņa was educated at Riga City Gymnasium No. 3, leaving school in 1919, while also attending the Latvian Youth Union's drama courses.[1]
When she was 19, Bērziņa was cast in the silent film Psyche (1922, directed by Pjotrs Čardinins [lv]), alongside Eduards Smiļģis. After this role, Smiļģis invited her to work in stage productions with him.[1]
Bērziņa worked with Smiļģis at the Daile Theatre in Rīga,[2] with her debut role in 1921's Fire and Night.[1] She performed roles including William Shakespeare's heroines Desdemona and Juliet, Johann Wolfgang Goethe's Gretel, Henrik Ibsen's Solveig, Rainis' Asnati and antagonist Spīdola, and Friedrich Schiller's Zanna.[3] Bērziņa also starred in the Latvian classic film Lāčplēsis (1930, based on the national epic poem by Andrejs Pumpurs).[4]
Following World War II, Bērziņa supported the renewal of the Jewish Theatre,[5] unsuccessfully trying to convince the Latvian Communist party leadership to reopen the institution.[6]
After a thirty-year break from acting, Bērziņa returned films to play older female roles,[7] including in A Limousine the Colour of Midsummer's Eve,[8][9] Surveyor's Times and Frost in Spring.[1]
Bērziņa died on 27 May 1983 in Rīga, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. She was buried at the Forest Cemetery, Riga.[1] She is commemorated on a plaque in Rīga.
Awards
- Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1948 and 1971)[1]
- Cavalier of the Order of Lenin (1965, 1973 and 1978[1]
- Hero of Socialist Labour (1978)[10]
- Stalin Prize
- Meritorious Artist of the Latvian SSR
- People's Artist of the USSR[10]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Lilita Bērziņa". Latvijas Nacionālā bibliotēka (in Latvian). Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ "Lilita Bērziņa". Woman in Latvian culture and society (1870-1940) // Womage. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ Latvija ...: Latvijas PSR Starptautisko kultūras sakaru gadagrāmata (in Latvian). Avots. 1986. p. 149.
- ^ "No Džuljetas un Spīdolas līdz Mirtantei. Brīnišķīgajai skatuves leģendai Lilitai Bērziņai – 120". tv3.lv (in Latvian). 17 July 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ Dribins, Leo; Gūtmanis, Armands; Vestermanis, Marg̓ers (2001). Latvia's Jewish Community: History, Tragedy, Revival. Publishers of the Institute of the History of Latvia. p. 64. ISBN 978-9984-601-64-9.
- ^ Šteimanis, Josifs (2002). History of Latvian Jews. East European Monographs. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-88033-493-8.
- ^ Cimdiņa, Ausma (2008). 100 Latvijas sievietes kultūrā un politikā (in Latvian). Latvijas Universitāte. p. 81.
- ^ "Film "A Limousine the Colour of Midsummer's Eve", 1981, by Director Jānis Streičs (1936)". Latvijas Kultūras kanons. Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ "Letonika.lv. Enciklopēdijas - Latvijas kultūras kanons. Limuzīns Jāņu nakts krāsā, spēlfilma". letonika.lv. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ a b Latvia. Avots. 1983. p. 17.
External links
- Lilita Bērziņa at IMDb
- Lilita Bērziņa at Nacionālais Kino centrs (in Latvian)