Yelizaveta Nikolaevna Kedrova (; 9 October 1909 – 16 February 2000), known as Lila Kedrova, was a Russian-French actress of the screen and stage. For her portrayal of Madame Hortense in Zorba the Greek (1964), she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. For reprising the same role in the musical stage adaptation on Broadway in 1984, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. However, her gravestone gives her birth date 9 October 1909.
In 1922, several years after the October Revolution, the family emigrated to Berlin. By 1926 they were living in France, where Kedrova's mother taught at the Conservatoire de Paris, and her father again recreated Quatuor Kedroff.
Career
In 1932, Kedrova joined the Moscow Art Theatre touring company. Throughout the 1950s and '60s was a fixture of the Parisian stage, notably appearing in productions of The Rose Tattoo, The Playboy of the Western World, A View from the Bridge, A Taste of Honey, and Les Parents terribles. During this time, she also married actor-director Pierre Valde. Despite being a relative unknown internationally, director Michael Cacoyannis reached out to her personally.
Personal life
Kedrova's second husband was Canadian stage director Richard Howard (1932–2017). She retired from acting in the mid-1990s due to Alzheimer's disease.
Death
In 2000, Kedrova died at her summer home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, of pneumonia. Her remains were cremated, and her ashes are buried in her family grave in the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery in Paris.
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| British Academy Film Awards
| 1965
| Best Foreign Actress
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| Canadian Film Awards
| 1975
| Best Supporting Actress
| Eliza's Horoscope
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| Drama Desk Awards
| 1984
| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
| Zorba
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| Golden Globe Awards
| 1964
| Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
| rowspan="2"| Zorba the Greek
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| rowspan="2" | Laurel Awards
| rowspan="2" | 1964
| Supporting Performance – Female
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| colspan="2"| New Faces – Female
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| Taormina International Film Festival
| 1981
| Best Actress
| Tell Me a Riddle
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| Tony Awards
| 1984
| Best Featured Actress in a Musical
| Zorba
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See also
- List of Russian Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of French Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations