Lída Baarová facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lída Baarová
Baarová in 1940
Born	Ludmila Babková (1914-09-07)7 September 1914 Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, Austria-Hungary
Died	27 October 2000(2000-10-27) (aged 86) Salzburg, Austria
Nationality	Czech
Years active	1931–1970
Spouse(s)	Jan Kopecky ​ ​ (m. 1947; div. 1956)​ Kurt Lundvall ​ ​ (m. 1969; died 1972)​

Lída Baarová (born Ludmila Babková; 7 September 1914 – 27 October 2000) was a famous Czech actress. She became well-known in the 1930s and 1940s, especially in Germany and Italy. Her life was greatly affected by the political events of World War II.

Life and Career of Lída Baarová

Early Life and Acting Start

Lída Baarová was born in Prague, which was then part of Austria-Hungary. She studied acting at the city's Conservatory, a special school for performing arts. When she was just 17, she got her first film role in a Czechoslovak movie called Pavel Čamrda's Career.

Her mother was also involved in the arts, singing in a choir and acting in plays. Lída's younger sister, Zorka Janů, also became a film actress.

Moving to Berlin and Early Success

In 1934, Lída Baarová moved to Berlin, Germany. She had won a competition at the UFA film studios, which was a major film company. This led to a role in the film Barcarole.

While in Berlin, she met Adolf Hitler, who was the leader of Nazi Germany. He told her she looked like someone important from his past.

Lída became very successful in Germany. She starred in the film Barcarole (1935) with German actor Gustav Fröhlich. They also acted together in several other movies. Lída also performed on stage in famous theaters in Berlin.

Turning Down Hollywood

Lída Baarová received offers to work in Hollywood, the center of the American film industry. However, she turned them down. This was partly due to pressure from the Nazi government.

Later in her life, she said she regretted this decision. She believed she could have become as famous as Marlene Dietrich, another well-known actress.

Challenges and Return to Prague

Lída Baarová and Gustav Fröhlich lived near the home of Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels was a very powerful official in the Nazi government. He had a big say in German film production.

Lída met Goebbels when he visited Fröhlich's home. They became very close. This close connection caused problems for Goebbels and his family.

In 1938, Adolf Hitler himself stepped in. He told Goebbels that his close association with a Czech actress was not acceptable. This was especially true because Germany was planning to take over parts of Czechoslovakia.

Lída was told by the police chief that she had to end her close ties with Goebbels. She was also forbidden from acting by Hitler's direct order. One of her films, A Prussian Love Story, was banned. It was not shown in theaters until 1950.

After these events, Lída Baarová had a difficult time. She tried to go to Hollywood, but Hitler would not let her leave Germany. She was watched by the Gestapo, the secret police. In late 1938, she returned to Prague.

Even under German occupation in Prague, she was allowed to act for a while. In 1942, she moved to Italy. There, she starred in films like Grazia (1943) and La Fornarina (1944).

After Allied troops took over Italy, she had to go back to Prague. In 1945, she tried to leave Prague for Germany again. However, she was stopped by American military police and sent back to Czechoslovakia.

Life After the War

Post-War Challenges

In Czechoslovakia in 1945, Lída Baarová and her family were held by the authorities. They were suspected of helping the Germans during the war. Lída herself was released after 18 months because there was not enough evidence against her. She was never found guilty of any crime.

While she was being held, a puppeteer named Jan Kopecký visited her often. They got married in 1947. Kopecký was related to a powerful politician in Czechoslovakia. This politician did not approve of the marriage, and Kopecký lost his job because of it. Kopecký later moved to Argentina.

Attempted Comeback and Later Life

In 1949, Lída tried to start her acting career again in Austria. However, an actor she was supposed to work with pulled out of the film. This caused negative attention in the media. So, she left for Argentina to avoid the problems.

She lived in Argentina for a time, facing financial difficulties. She then decided to return to Italy. Her husband stayed in Argentina, and they divorced in 1956.

Back in Italy, she appeared in several films. One notable role was in Fellini's famous film I Vitelloni (1953). In 1958, she moved to Salzburg, Austria, where she acted on stage again.

She married an Austrian doctor, Kurt Lundwall, in 1969. He passed away in 1973.

Later Years and Legacy

In the 1990s, after the end of Communism in Europe, Lída Baarová became known again in the Czech Republic. She published her autobiography, a book about her own life.

A film called Lída Baarová's Bittersweet Memories was released in 1995. It won an award at a film festival in Slovakia.

Lída Baarová suffered from Parkinson's disease later in her life. She died in 2000 in Salzburg, Austria, living alone on the property she inherited from her second husband. Her ashes were buried in Prague, next to her parents and sister.

Filmography

• Obrácení Ferdyše Pištory ("Conversion of Fred Pištora", 1931)
• Kariéra Pavla Čamrdy ("Pavel Čamrda's Career", 1931)
• Zapadlí vlastenci ("Forgotten Patriots", 1932)
• Lelíček ve službách Sherlocka Holmese ("Lelíček in Sherlock Holmes' Service", 1932)
• Šenkýřka u divoké krásky ("Waitress at the Wild Beauty's Bar", 1932)
• Růžové kombiné ("The Pink Slip", 1932)
• Malostranští mušketýři ("Prague's Musketeers", 1932)
• Funebrák ("The Undertaker", 1932)
• Jsem děvče s čertem v těle ("Funky Girl", 1933)
• Madla z cihelny ("The Brickmaker's Daughter", 1933)
• Okénko ("The Window", 1933)
• Sedmá velmoc ("The Seventh Superpower", 1933)
• Její lékař ("The Physician", 1933)
• Pokušení paní Antonie ("Antonia's Temptation", 1934)
• Pán na roztrhání ("Man in Demand on All Sides", 1934)
• Na růžích ustláno ("Easy Life", 1934)
• Zlatá Kateřina ("Golden Kate", 1934)
• Dokud máš maminku ("As Long as your Mother is Alive", 1934)
• Grandhotel Nevada ("Grand Hotel Nevada", 1934)
• One Too Many on Board (1935)
• Leutnant Bobby, der Teufelskerl ("Lieutenant Bobby, the Daredevil", 1935)
• Barcarole ("Barcarolle", 1935)
• Verräter ("The Traitor", 1936)
• Die Stunde der Versuchung ("The Hour of Temptation", 1936)
• Švadlenka ("The Seamstress", 1936)
• Komediantská princezna ("The Comedian's Princess", 1936)
• Patrioten ("Patriots", 1937)
• Lidé na kře ("People on the Floating Ice", 1937)
• Panenství ("Virginity", 1937)
• Die Fledermaus [it] ("The Bat", 1937)
• Der Spieler ("The Gambler", 1938)
• Preußische Liebesgeschichte ("A Prussian Love Story", 1938, banned; released in 1950 as Liebslegende "Story of Love")
• Maskovaná milenka ("The Masked Lover", 1939)
• Ohnivé léto ("Fiery Summer", 1939)
• Artur a Leontýna ("Arthur and Leontine", 1940)
• Život je krásný ("Life Is Beautiful", 1940)
• Dívka v modrém ("Girl in Blue", 1940)
• Za tichých nocí ("In the Still of the Night", 1941)
• Paličova dcera ("Arsonist's Daughter", 1941)
• Turbina ("Turbine", 1941)
• Grazia ("The Charming Beauty", 1943)
• Ti conosco, mascherina! ("Masked Girl, Recognised!", 1943)
• La Fornarina ("The Baker's Daughter", 1944)
• Il Cappello da prete ("The Priest's Hat", 1944)
• L'Ippocampo ("The Sea-Horse", 1944)
• Vivere ancora ("Still Alive", 1944)
• La sua strada ("Its Way", 1946)
• La bisarca ("The Car Transporter", 1950)
• Gli amanti di Ravello ("The Lovers of Ravello", 1950)
• Carne inquieta ("Restless", 1952)
• What Price Innocence? (1952)
• La vendetta di una pazza ("Revenge of a Crazy Girl", 1952)
• I Vitelloni ("The Bullocks", 1953)
• Pietà per chi cade ("Compassion", 1954)
• Miedo ("The Fear", 1956)
• La Mestiza ("The Mestiza", 1956)
• Viaje de novios ("Honeymoon", 1956)
• We're All Necessary (1956)
• 1956 Retorno a la verdad ("The Truth Will Set You Free")
• Rapsodia de sangre ("Ecstasy", 1957)
• El batallón de las sombras ("The Battalion in the Shadows", 1957)
• Il cielo brucia ("The Sky Burns", 1958)
• Života sladké hořkosti Lídy Baarové ("Lída Baarová's Bittersweet Memories", 1995)

See also

In Spanish: Lída Baarová para niños

• Otakar Vávra
• Adina Mandlová