Faina Ranevskaya facts for kids
Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya (born Faina Girschevna Feldman, August 27, 1896 — July 19, 1984) was a very famous Soviet actress. She was known for her amazing talent in both serious and funny roles. People also loved her for her clever and witty sayings, called aphorisms.
Faina Ranevskaya acted in many plays by famous writers like Anton Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy. While we mostly see photos of her theater work, some of her later performances were filmed. She became widely known for her roles in movies such as Pyshka (Boule de Suif), The Man in a Shell, Mechta (Dream), Vesna (Springtime), and Cinderella.
Biography
Faina Feldman was born into a wealthy Jewish family in the city of Taganrog. Her father, Girsch Haimovich Feldman, owned a factory and other businesses. Her mother, Milka Rafailovna, loved literature and art, especially the works of Chekhov. This love for art influenced Faina's own passion for poetry, music, and theater. She had two brothers and an older sister named Bella.
Faina went to elementary school and then studied at home. She had lessons in music, singing, and foreign languages. She loved to read books.
Her love for theater began when she was 14 years old. Seeing Chekhov's play The Cherry Orchard in Moscow deeply affected her. Her stage name, "Ranevskaya," which later became her official last name, was inspired by this theater visit.
In 1915, Faina left Taganrog and moved to Moscow to become an actress. Her family didn't approve of her career choice, and she became separated from them. She started by playing small roles in the background scenes at a summer theater near Moscow.
Her family moved away in 1917, but Faina chose to stay in Russia and continue acting. She worked in theaters in many different cities, including Kerch, Rostov on Don, Baku, and Smolensk.
In 1931, Ranevskaya performed at the Chamber Theater.
Her first movie role was in Pyshka (known as Boule de Suif in the U.S.) in 1934. It was a silent black and white film. Even though it was silent, Faina learned some French lines from the original book to prepare for her role. A famous French writer, Romain Rolland, loved the film and especially Faina Ranevskaya's acting. Because of him, the movie was shown in French cinemas and became very popular.
Faina Ranevskaya also performed on stage at several important theaters in Moscow, including the Central Academic Theatre of the Russian Army and the Mossovet Theater. She worked with director Yury Zavadsky at the Mossovet Theater for many years.
She received the State Stalin Prize twice for her amazing acting, once in 1949 for her theater work and again in 1951 for her role in the film U nih est' Rodina. In 1961, she was given the high honor of People's Artist of the USSR.
Faina Ranevskaya passed away in 1984 in Moscow and was buried at the Donskoe Cemetery. A special plaque was placed on her birth house in Taganrog in 1986 to remember her.
In 1992, a British encyclopedia called "Who's Who" listed Ranevskaya as one of the world's Top Ten Actors of the 20th century. This was remarkable because she mostly played supporting roles in movies, never the main character.
On May 16, 2008, a Ranevskaya Monument was unveiled in Taganrog in front of her birth house. In 2017, it was announced that her birth house in Taganrog would become a museum.
Filmography
- 1934 — Boule de Suif (Пышка) as Madame Loiseau
- 1938 — The Ballad of Cossack Golota (Дума про казака Голоту)
- 1939 — Man in a Shell (Человек в футляре)
- 1939 — Engineer Kochin's Error (Ошибка инженера Кочина)
- 1939 — The Foundling (Подкидыш)
- 1940 — The Beloved (Любимая девушка)
- 1941 — The Dream (Мечта)
- 1943 — The New Adventures of Schweik (Новые похождения Швейка)
- 1944 — The Wedding (Свадьба)
- 1945 — Heavenly Slug (Небесный тихоход)
- 1947 — Private Aleksandr Matrosov (Рядовой Александр Матросов)
- 1947 — Springtime (Весна)
- 1947 — Cinderella (Золушка)
- 1949 — Encounter at the Elbe (Встреча на Эльбе) as Mrs. McDermot
- 1949 — They Have a Motherland (У них есть Родина)
- 1958 — A Girl with a Guitar (Девушка с гитарой)
- 1960 — Be Careful, Grandma! (Осторожно, бабушка!)
- 1964 — An Easy Life (Лёгкая жизнь)
- 1965 — Today, New Side Show (Сегодня - новый аттракцион)
Faina Ranevskaya's Clever Sayings
Faina Ranevskaya was famous for her witty and often funny sayings. Here are a few of them:
- Life is a short walk, just before an eternal sleep.
- Loneliness is when you have a telephone, but the only sound it makes is the alarm clock ringing.
- Getting older is annoying, but it's the only way to live a long time.
- To act in a bad movie is like spitting into forever.
- God made women pretty so men would like them, and silly so they would like men.
- You won't believe how old I am – I even remember some good people!
- (When asked how she was feeling) At night everything hurts, especially my conscience.
- An actor doesn't have problems if it's needed for the role.
- I'm watching this movie for the fourth time, and let me tell you, today the actors performed like never before.
- Say and think about me whatever you like. When have you seen a cat care about what mice think of it?
- (After getting better from a heart attack) If the patient truly wants to live, the doctors can't stop them.
- Rare animals are put in the red book, and common ones are put in the cookbook.
- A real man is someone who remembers your birthday and doesn't remember your age.
- Those annoying journalists! Half the lies they tell about me aren't even true!
Images for kids
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Faina Ranevskaya
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Birthplace of Faina Ranevskaya in Taganrog
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Ranevskaya as Zinka in Alexander Tairov's theatrical production of the Sonate pathétique (1931).
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A stamp featuring Faina Ranevskaya
See also
In Spanish: Faína Ranévskaya para niños
