Vera Kholodnaya

Vera Kholodnaya was the first star of Imperial Russian silent cinema. She was born in Poltava in 1893 and moved to Moscow with her grandmother at the age of two. She dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer and enrolled at the Bolshoi Theatre ballet school. She married Vladimir Kholodny, a journalist and race car driver, in 1910 and had two daughters. She started her film career in 1914 with a minor role in Anna Karenina, directed by Vladimir Gardin. She rose to fame in 1915 with the films Song of Triumphant Love and Flame of the Sky, directed by Yevgeni Bauer. She became known for her beauty, charisma, and expressive eyes. She starred in many melodramas, comedies, and social dramas, working with prominent directors such as Pyotr Chardynin, Yakov Protazanov, and Alexander Volkov. She was popular not only in Russia, but also in Europe and America. She was often compared to Asta Nielsen, Theda Bara, and Sarah Bernhardt. She died in 1919 in Odessa, during the Russian Civil War, from the Spanish flu. She was only 25 years old. Her death was surrounded by rumors and conspiracy theories, such as being poisoned by the French ambassador or being a Bolshevik spy. Only five of her films have survived to this day, out of the 50 to 100 that she acted in. She is regarded as one of the pioneers and legends of Russian cinema.