Krystyna Zofia Feldman (1 March 1916 – 24 January 2007) was a Polish

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Life and career

Born in

Lemberg Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(now Lviv, Ukraine) to a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

mother, Katarzyna Sawicka, an opera singer and a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

father, Ferdynand Feldman, an actor. Her father died in 1919 when she was 3 years old. At that time, Lemberg (

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

) returned to the reborn

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and her mother began to educate Krystyna at the Lwów acting studio run by the actor Janusz Strachocki. In 1934, she graduated from the gymnasium named Queen Jadwiga in Lwów; She passed her secondary school-leaving examination extramural in order to pass the exams to the theater school. After three years of study, in 1937, she graduated from the State Institute of Theater Arts in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. Soon after, she made her debut at the Grand Theatre in Lwów. In 1939, she was engaged to the theater in

Łuck Lutsk (, ; see below for other names) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of Lutsk Raion within the oblast. Lutsk has a population of A city wit ...

in Poland (now Lutsk, Ukraine), but after the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she returned to Lwów, which was under Soviet occupation from October 6, 1939 (''read:

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

''). In 1942 she was sworn in as a soldier of the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

. She was a liaison there. She returned to the stage of the Lwów theater in 1944 after the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

entered the city. At that time, she played the male role of Staszek (book character) in Wyspiański's Wesele (''The Wedding'' - the book from 1901), directed by Aleksander Bardini. After the separation of Lwów from Poland in 1945 and the incorporation of the city into the USSR, Feldman moved to the new borders of

- she settled in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. She starred in theatre productions there until 1944, and later in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

, and

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. In 1980, the Security Service initiated an operational reconnaissance case against the actress, codenamed "Aranżerka" (''the feminine version of the word arranger, Polish: aranżer''). Krystyna Feldman was harassed after she signed a letter defending the autonomy of the

Adam Mickiewicz University Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam si ...

in Poznań. Despite the control of correspondence, frequent searches in the apartment and many difficulties in the development of her career, the actress couldn't be broken. Since 1983, she performed at the Teatr Nowy in

. Feldman made her film debut in '' Celuloza'' (1953), directed by

Jerzy Kawalerowicz Jerzy Franciszek Kawalerowicz (19 January 1922 – 27 December 2007) was a Polish film director, screenwriter and politician, having been a member of Polish United Workers' Party from 1954 until its dissolution in 1990 and a deputy in Polish pa ...

. Her career continued with various supporting roles. She was best known for a male role of an elderly disabled painter Nikifor in ''

Mój Nikifor ''My Nikifor'' () is a 2004 Polish drama film directed by Krzysztof Krauze. It is based on the life of Nikifor, a folk art, folk and Naïve art, naïve painter. Cast *Krystyna Feldman as Nikifor *Roman Gancarczyk as Marian Włosiński *Lucyna Ma ...

'' (''My Nikifor''), for which she won the award for best actress in 2004 at the Polish Film Festival in

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

and numerous awards at other festivals in the world: # Best Actress at 4th International Film Festival -

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

2006 # Best European Film at 8th

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

International Film Festival 2005 # Best Actress at 50th

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

International Film Festival 2005 # Best Film at The 41st

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

International Film Festival 2005 # Best Film at The 18th Panorama Of European Cinema -

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

2005 # Best Actor/Actress at International Film Festival -

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

2005 # Best Actress at International Actor's Film Festival in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

- Stozhary 2005 # Grand Prix, Best Actress and Best Film at 40th International Film Festival

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

2005Zebra Movie Studio website
/ref> She also appeared as the grandmother in the TV sitcom '' Świat według Kiepskich''. This role brought her great fame and popularity. Krystyna Feldman died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in her flat in

, aged 90. She was a long-term heavy smoker.

References

*
Biography at Wirtualna Polska

External links

Biography
at culture.pl 1916 births 2007 deaths Actresses from Poznań Deaths from lung cancer in Poland Actresses from Lviv Polish film actresses Polish people of Jewish descent Polish stage actresses Polish television actresses 20th-century Polish actresses Recipients of the Meritorious Activist of Culture badge {{Poland-actor-stub