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. She reprised the same role in the musical stage adaptation on Broadway in 1984, winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.

Early life Yelizaveta Nikolayevna Kedrova was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. During her life, her birth date was often reported as 9 October 1918. However, her gravestone gives her birth date 9 October 1909.

Kedrova was the youngest of three children born to opera singer parents. Her father, Nikolay Kedrov Sr. (1871–1940), was a singer and composer, a creator of the first Russian male quartet to perform liturgical chants. Her mother, Sofia Gladkaya (1874–1965), was a singer at the Mariinsky Theatre and a teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris. Her brother, Nikolay Kedrov Jr. (died 1981), was a Russian singer and composer of liturgical music. Her sister, Irene Kedroff (Irina Nikolayevna Kedrova; died 1989), was a soprano.

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.

She made her film debut in 1938's Ultimatum. She appeared in several French films, mainly in supporting parts, until her first English-language film appearance as Madame Hortense in Zorba the Greek (1964). She won the role after the director's first choice, Simone Signoret, quit early in production. Despite being a relative unknown internationally, director Michael Cacoyannis reached out to her personally. Her performance ultimately won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Kedrova then appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's film Torn Curtain (1966), playing the role of Countess Kuczynska , a Polish noblewoman in East Berlin who is desperate to emigrate to the United States. Kedrova played Fräulein Schneider in the West End stage production of Cabaret in 1968, and Lyuba Ranevskaya in a UK touring production of The Cherry Orchard. She then played a series of eccentric and crazy women in Hollywood films, as well as in several Italian productions including the horror films Footprints on the Moon and The Cursed Medallion. In 1976, she starred in Roman Polanski's The Tenant.

In 1983, she reprised her role as Madame Hortense on Broadway in the musical stage version of Zorba the Greek, winning both a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical in the process. In 1989, she played Madame Armfeldt in the London revival of A Little Night Music.

Personal life Kedrova's second husband was Canadian stage director Richard Howard (1932–2017).Obituary of Richard Howard, dignitymemorial.com. Accessed 3 January 2024. 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.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1938 Ultimatum Irina as Lila Kédrova 1953 No Way Back Ljubaas Lila Kedrowa 1954 Uncredited Flesh and the Woman Rose 1955 Mme. Denis Bastien's Wife Uncredited Razzia sur la chnouf Léa Futures vedettes Mme. Dimater 1956 Mme. Vacopoulos Calle Mayor Pepita 1957 Until the Last One Marcella Bastia Ce joli monde Léa 1958 The Lovers of Montparnasse Mme. Sborowsky 1959 La Femme et le Pantin Manuela Jons und Erdme Mon pote le gitan La Choute 1963 Kriss Romani Kirvi 1964 Massa's Mother Zorba the Greek Madame Hortense 1965 Rosa 1966 Torn Curtain Countess Kuchinska Penelope Sadaba 1967 Maigret a Pigalle Rose Alfonsi Rosa 1968 The Girl Who Couldn't Say No Yolanda's Mother 1970 Madam Sophie 1972 Madame Olga Dubillard Rak David's Mother Escape to the Sun Sarah Kaplan 1974 Soft Beds, Hard Battles Madame Grenier 1974 Alla mia cara mamma nel giorno del suo compleanno Countess Mafalda 1975 Footprints on the Moon Mrs. Heim The Cursed Medallion Contessa Cappelli Eliza's Horoscope Lila 1976 Madame Gaderian 1977 Moi, fleur bleue Countess de Tocqueville Nido de Viudas Mother 1978 Camille Chevallier 1979 Olga Charlotte Womanlight Sonia Tovalski 1980 Les Parents terribles Yvonne Tell Me a Riddle Eva 1981 Il Turno Maria 1982 Blood Tide Sister Anna 1984 Sword of the Valiant Lady of Lyonesse 1988 Some Girls Granny 1991 A Star for Two Simone 1993 Next Time the Fire Mother

Television Year Title Role(s) Notes 1964 Les Cinq Dernières Minutes Mme. Grisolles, Wanda Nouchkine 2 episodes 1961 L'histoire dépasse la fiction Leonora Dori Episode: "Les Concini" 1962 Mesdemoiselles Armande La LedouxTV movie 1966 Le train bleu s'arrête 13 fois SoniaEpisode: "Monte-Carlo: Un mari dangerux" Thirteen Against Fate Emma MartensEpisode: "The Survivors" 1969 A Touch of Venus FrancescaEpisode: "Soap & Water" 1972 Cool Million Mme. MartineEpisode: "Mask of Marcella" 1973 Les glaces MadameTV movie 1976 Second City Firsts NatashaEpisode: "Trotsky is Dead" 1977 Cinéma 16 Mme. DebolskaEpisode: "Au bont du printemps" 1979 Le petit théâtre d'Antenne 2Episode: "Le bifteck" 1980 Les amours de la belle époque Mme. GrabutEpisode: "Mon amie Nane" The Ghost Sonata The MummyTV movie 1988 Two Men Rose

Awards and nominations Award Year Category Nominated work Results Ref. Academy Awards 1964 Best Supporting Actress Zorba the Greek British Academy Film Awards 1965 Best Foreign Actress Canadian Film Awards 1975 Best Supporting Actress Eliza's Horoscope Drama Desk Awards 1984 Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Zorba Golden Globe Awards 1964 Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Zorba the Greek Laurel Awards 1964 Supporting Performance – Female New Faces – Female Taormina International Film Festival 1981 Best Actress Tell Me a Riddle Tony Awards 1984 Best Featured Actress in a Musical Zorba

See also List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Russia List of Academy Award winners and nominees from France List of actors with Academy Award nominations

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