Gila Almagor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gila Almagor
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| גילה אלמגור | |
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| Born | July 22, 1939 Petah-Tikva, British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel)
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| Nationality | Israeli |
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| Children | 2 |
Gila Almagor Agmon (born Gila Alexandrowitz on July 22, 1939) is a famous Israeli actress and writer. She is often called the "queen of Israeli cinema and theatre" because of her important work.
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About Gila Almagor
Gila Alexandrowitz (who later became Almagor) was born in Petah Tikva, a city in what is now Israel. Her parents were Jewish immigrants from Europe. Her father, Max Alexandrowitz, died before she was born while working as a policeman. Her mother, Chaya, came from a religious Jewish family in Poland.
Gila grew up taking care of her mother. Her mother became very unwell after learning that all her family in Europe had died in the Holocaust. In 1954, when Gila's mother needed special care, Gila was sent to a youth village called Hadassim.
Two years later, Gila moved to Tel Aviv. She rented a room near the Habima Theatre and applied to acting school. Even though she was younger than the usual age, she was accepted.
At 17, Gila Almagor made her first appearance on stage in a play called The Skin of Our Teeth. She later wrote two books about her own life, Summer of Aviya and Under the Domim Tree. Both of these books were made into movies, and Gila played her own mother in them.
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Gila was married to Yaakov Agmon, who used to be the director of the Habima Theatre. They were married until he passed away in 2020. They had two children together.
Her Work in Theatre, Film, and TV
Gila Almagor has played the main character in many plays. Some of these include Anne Frank, Jeanne d'Arc, and The Crucible. She has also acted in more than 50 films.
Some of her well-known movies are Siege, Queen of the Road, The House on Chelouche Street, Hide and Seek, El Dorado, Life According to Agfa, and The Summer of Aviya.
In 2005, Gila Almagor played the mother of the main character, Avner, in the movie Munich. She also appeared in The Debt, a film about a former secret agent. In 2008, she played Lolah Baum in a TV show called Dani Hollywood. In 2005, she was a therapist in the Israeli TV series BeTipul, which won awards.
Helping Others and Public Service
Gila Almagor started the Gila Almagor Wish Fund. This is a charity that helps children who are sick. She also helped create AMI, which is the Israeli Artist Association.
She is currently in charge of cultural activities for the City Council of Tel Aviv. She also works on many other groups that help promote arts for children. She helps connect Israeli performing arts with other countries around the world.
Awards and Recognition
Gila Almagor has won many awards for her acting. She has received 10 Kinor David awards for her work in both films and theatre.
In 1996, she received a Life Achievement Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival. This award honored her entire career. The Israeli Academy of Cinema also gave her a Life Achievement Award in 1997. For her movie Summer of Aviya, she won the Silver Bear award for best actress at the Berlin Film Festival in 1988. She also received the 1988 Silver Menorah Award for best actress.
In 1995, Gila Almagor received a National Jewish Book Award for her book Under the Domin Tree.
She was part of the jury (the group that decides the winners) at the 18th Moscow International Film Festival in 1993. In 1996, she was also on the jury at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival.
In 1990, a newspaper called Yediot Ahronoth and the Israel Film Institute chose her as the Actress of the Decade. In 2004, she received the Israel Prize for cinema, which is one of the highest honors in Israel. In 2005, she became a Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadorship. In 2007, she won the Liberitas Film Festival Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Croatia. In 2009, both Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Tel Aviv University gave her an Honorary Doctorate.
Filmography
- El Dorado (1963), as Margo
- Sallah Shabati (1964), as Batsheva Ha'Sosialit (social worker)
- Trunk to Cairo (1965), as Yasmin
- The House on Chelouche Street (1973), as Clara
- The Rose Garden (1989), as Ruth
- Life According to Agfa (1993), as Daliah
- Munich (2005), as Avner's Mother
See also
- List of Israel Prize recipients
- Women of Israel
