Helena Modjeska

Common card · No. 390044

Helena Modrzejewska (Polish: [mɔdʐɛˈjɛfska]; born Jadwiga Helena Misel Benda; October 12, 1840 – April 8, 1909), known professionally in the United States as Helena Modjeska, was a Polish-American actress who specialized in Shakespearean and tragic roles. She was also a philanthropist and a socialite. She was successful first on the Polish stage. After emigrating to the United States, she also succeeded on stage in America and London. She is regarded as the greatest actress in the history of theatre in Poland. She was also a member of the Pacific Coast Women's Press Association and was mother of a prominent Polish-American engineer Ralph Modjeski. Helena Modjeska performed dramatic roles in five languages—Polish (in Kraków, Warsaw, and Lwów), English (throughout her 30-year American career), French (including Adrienne Lecouvreur), German (with early German theatrical companies), and Czech (onstage in Prague). Her ability to work professionally in all five made her the most linguistically...

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