Maia Morgenstern la Sinagoga din Cetate (Timișoara)

Maia Emilia Ninel Morgenstern (; born 1 May 1962) is a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n film and stage actress, Gabriela Dumba
Pur și SIMPLU, Maia Morgenstern
, ("Pure and simple, Maia Morgenstern", but with a pun, because Simplu is a Romanian musical group with whom she had done a video), ''Gardianul'', December 23, 2006. Accessed online December 20, 2007. described by Florin Mitu of AMOS News as "a symbol of Romanian theater and film". In the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

-speaking world, she is best known for portraying the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...

's ''

The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary ...

''. In Romania, she has been nationally known since her 1992 role as Nela in ''Balanța'', a film known in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

as ''

The Oak ''The Oak'' ( ro, Balanța) is a 1992 Romanian drama film co-written and directed by Lucian Pintilie. It was screened out of competition at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Maia Morgenstern as Nela * Răzvan Vasilescu as Mitică * Victor R ...

'', set during the waning days of

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peop ...

. She received a star on the Romanian Walk of Fame in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

on 1 May 2011.

Biography

Born in

, Romania, to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family, she attended the Zoia Kosmodeminskaia High School in her native city, and graduated from the Film and Theatre Academy of Bucharest in 1985. She then played at ''Teatrul Tineretului'' (Youth Theater) in

Piatra Neamț Piatra Neamț (; german: Kreuzburg an der Bistrița (Siret), Bistritz; hu, Karácsonkő) is the capital city of Neamț County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in northeastern Romania. Because of its privileged location in the Easter ...

until 1988, and at the ''

Teatrul Evreiesc de Stat Teatrul Evreiesc de Stat (TES, the State Jewish Theater) in Bucharest, Romania is a theater specializing in Jewish-related plays. It is the oldest Yiddish-language theater with uninterrupted activity in the world. Its contemporary repertoire inclu ...

'' (State Jewish Theatre) in Bucharest 1988, 1989, and 1990. From 1990 to 1998 she was a member of the company of the National Theatre in Bucharest, and since 1998 of

Teatrul Bulandra The Bulandra Theatre ( ro, Teatrul Bulandra) in Bucharest, Romania was founded in 1947 as Teatrul Municipal; its first director was Lucia Sturdza-Bulandra, one of the leading Romanian stage actresses of her generation. Liviu Ciulei was director b ...

, also in Bucharest; Florin Mitu
2007 Interviu: Maia Morgenstern
AMOS News, November 17, 2007. Accessed online December 20, 2007. in addition, she continues to act at the Jewish State Theatre and other Bucharest theaters and elsewhere in Romania. Among her notable stage roles in recent years, in a

Romanian-language Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communities in t ...

production of ''The Blue Angel'' (''Îngerul Albastru'' in Romanian) at Bucharest's Odeon Theater, in 2001-2 she played (to great critical acclaim) Lola Lola, the character made famous by

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

. At the same time, she was also playing the role of Kathleen Hogan in a Romanian-language production of

Israel Horovitz Israel Horovitz (March 31, 1939 – November 9, 2020) was an American playwright, director, actor and co-founder of the Gloucester Stage Company in 1979. He served as artistic director until 2006 and later served on the board, ex officio and ...

's ''

Park Your Car in Harvard Yard A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

'' at the State Jewish Theater. Morgenstern has appeared in numerous films, primarily in

Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communities in ...

roles. In ''The Passion of the Christ'', she performs a role in

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...

, but like the other actors in the cast of that film, she simply memorized her lines

phonetically Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

. Her surname, Morgenstern, means "Morning Star" in German, a title of the Virgin Mary, the character she played in ''The Passion of the Christ''. Mel Gibson, a devout Traditionalist Catholic, thought this of great significance when casting her. In interviews, she has defended ''The Passion of the Christ'' against allegations of

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, saying that the high priest

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD), known simply as Caiaphas (; grc-x-koine, Καϊάφας, Kaïáphas ) in the New Testament, was the Jewish high priest who, according to the gospels, organized a plot to kill Jesus. He famous ...

is portrayed not as a representative of the Jewish people, but as a leader of the establishment, adding that "Authorities throughout history have persecuted individuals with revolutionary ideas." On 29 March 2021, a Romanian man was arrested after Morgenstern received an email stating "I intend to throw her in the gas chamber".

Personal life

She has been married twice, first to Claudiu Istodor (1983–1999), and then to Dumitru Băltățeanu (2001–2015). She has 3 children: Tudor Aaron, an actor, Eva Leea Cabiria and Ana Isadora. Evelyn Badea
Maia Morgenstern, femeia care ştie să aibă succes în toate
, ''

Adevărul ''Adevărul'' (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published du ...

'', 20 October 2007, Accessed online 20 December 2007.

Awards, recognition

She has won several major awards as an actress: * Best Actress for: ''Cei care platesc cu viața'' ("Those who pay with their lives", 1991), Romanian Filmmakers Union * UNITER (Romanian Theatrical Union) Lucia Sturdza Bulandra Prize (1990) for her stage role as

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jaso ...

in ''Trilogia antică'' (''Ancient Trilogy''), directed by

Andrei Șerban Andrei Șerban (born June 21, 1943) is a Romanian- American theater director. A major name in twentieth-century theater, he is renowned for his innovative and iconoclastic interpretations and stagings. In 1992 he became Professor of Theater at th ...

. * Best Actress for: '' Balanța'' (1992), European Film AwardsAwards for Balanta (1992)
IMDB. Accessed 20 December 2007. * Best Actress for: ''Balanța'' (1992),

Cinéma Tout Ecran The Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) (french: link=no, Festival international du film de Genève) is an annual film festival founded in 1995. The festival, previously called the Geneva International Film Festival Tous Ecrans, was rename ...

(

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

Film Festival) * Best Actress for: ''Balanța'' (1992), Romanian Filmmakers Union * UNITER best actress award (1993), for her role in ''Ghetto'' at the Romanian National Theatre. * UNITER (1995) award for her performance in the stage production of '' Lola Blau''. * Best Film Actress for: ''The Passion of the Christ'' (2004), Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards ( EMMA Awards), UKEthnic Multicultural Media Awards, UK: 2004
IMDB. Accessed 20 December 2007.

Filmography

Where translations of titles are italicized, it indicates use of the translated title for the film in English-language release.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgenstern, Maia Romanian stage actresses Romanian film actresses European Film Award for Best Actress winners Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography alumni Actresses from Bucharest Romanian Jews Jewish actresses 1962 births Living people