Ida Kamińska (September 18, 1899 – May 21, 1980) was a Polish actress and director. Known mainly for her work in the theatre, she was the daughter of Avrom Yitshok Kaminski (Abraham Isaac Kaminski) and Ester Rachel Kamińska ( Halpern), known as the Mother of the Jewish Stage. The Jewish Theatre in Warsaw, Poland is named in their honor. In her long career Kamińska produced more than 70 plays, and performed in more than 150 productions. She also wrote two plays of her own and translated many works in Yiddish. World War II disrupted her career, and she later immigrated to the United States where she continued to act. In 1967, she directed herself in the lead role of Mother Courage and Her Children on Broadway. In 1973, she released her autobiography, titled My Life, My Theater.

She starred in the 1965 film The Shop on Main Street, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. For her performance, she received special mention at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as nominations for the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the first and, to date, the only Polish actress to be nominated for an Oscar.

Early life and career

thumb|150px|left|The grave of Ester Rachel Kamińska, her mother.

Ida Kamińska was born in Odessa, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine), the daughter of Yiddish stage actress Ester Rachel Kamińska (1870–1925) and actor, director and stage producer (1867–1918). Her sister was actress and her brother was , a composer. Her mother was described as the "Jewish Eleonora Duse".

Kamińska began her stage career at the age of six. She was acting in both tragedies and comedies, as well as directing plays in her father's troupe by the time she was 18.

In 1918, she married the Yiddish actor and director Zygmunt Turkow (1896–1970), who was a member of her parents' troupe. She and Turkow had a daughter, Ruth Kamińska-Turkow, who was born in 1919.

Death and legacy

Ida Kamińska died of cardiovascular disease in 1980, aged 80. Her husband, Meir Melman, had died in 1978.

She was interred in the Yiddish theater section of the Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, New York. Also buried in Mount Hebron is Yiddish-American theatre operator Molly Picon.

In 2014, the Jewish Theatre in Warsaw held a special exhibition in her honor. The exhibit featured costumes worn by Kamińska, as well as photographs and memorabilia from her esteemed career.

See also

  • List of Polish Academy Award winners and nominees
  • List of actors with Academy Award nominations

References

  • Ida Kamińska and Meir Melman papers at the YIVO Archives
  • Friends of Ida Kamińska Theatre Foundation archives at the American Jewish Historical Society