Barbara Kwiatkowska-Lass

Barbara Kwiatkowska-Lass
Born (1940-06-01)1 June 1940
Partów, Gasten, Nazi Germany
Died 6 March 1995(1995-03-06) (aged 54)
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Resting place Rakowicki Cemetery, Kraków, Poland
Other names Barbara Lass
Barbara Kwiatkowska
Barbara Kwiatkowski
Occupation Actress
Years active 1958–1991
Spouse(s)
Roman Polanski
(m. 1959; div. 1962)

Karlheinz Böhm
(m. 1963; div. 1980)

Leszek Żądło
(m. 1980)
Children Katharina Böhm
The grave of Barbara Lass in Poland

Barbara Kwiatkowska-Lass (1 June 1940 – 6 March 1995) was a Polish actress.

Early life and career

She was born in Partów, a village in central Poland, then under German-controlled Poland. Although she received ballet and dance education, she eventually took up an acting career. After her debut role in Tadeusz Chmielewski's comedy Ewa chce spać (1957) she gained wider popularity in Poland. The role had been offered to her after she took the first place in a contest organized by a popular Polish cinema magazine.

In 1959 she left Poland for the West and soon starred in a few major films like La millième fenêtre (with Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Che gioia vivere (with Alain Delon). She played roles in several Italian, French and German films such as Krzysztof Zanussi's Blaubart (1983) and in Stachel im Fleisch (1981).

Personal life

She married film director Roman Polanski in 1959; they divorced in 1962.[1] The following year she met Karlheinz Böhm on the set of the movie Rififi in Tokyo (Rififi à Tokyo, 1963) in Tokyo; the couple later married, their daughter is actress Katharina Böhm.

Kwiatkowska-Lass divorced Böhm in 1980, and married Polish jazz musician Leszek Żądło, with whom she lived until her death.

Politics

Kwiatkowska was opposed to the Communist regime in Poland and cooperated with the United States-controlled Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which transmitted anti-communist propaganda, information and programmes free from censorship to Poland.

Death

On 6 March 1995, Kwiatkowska-Lass collapsed and died from a brain hemorrhage aged 54, in Munich. She was interred in Kraków's Rakowicki Cemetery.

Selected filmography

Film
Year Film Role Notes
1958 Ewa chce spać Ewa Bonecka Credited as Barbara Kwiatkowska
1959 When Angels Fall Alternative title: Gdy spadają anioły
Credited as Barbara Kwiatkowska
1960 Zezowate szczeście Jola Wrona-Wronska Alternative title: Bad Luck
Credited as Barbara Kwiatkowska
1961 Che gioia vivere Franca Fossati Alternative title: The Joy of Living
1961 Lycanthropus Priscilla Alternative title: Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory
1962 L'Amour à vingt ans Basia Alternative title: Love at Twenty
Segment "Warszawa"
1963 Rififi à Tokyo Françoise Merigne Alternative title: Rififi in Tokyo
1965 Serenade für zwei Spione Tamara Alternative title: Serenade for Two Spies
1967 Jowita Agnieszka "Jowita" Credited as Barbara Kwiatkowska
1970 Der Pfarrer von St. Pauli Dagmar Alternative title: The Priest of St. Pauli
1974 Jak to sie robi Holiday-Maker Alternative title: How It's Done
1981 Stachel im Fleisch Ines
1986 Die Geduld der Rosa Luxemburg Rosa's mother Alternative title: Rosa Luxemburg
1987 Das Schweigen des Dichters Janina
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1970 Hauser's Memory Angelika Television movie
1972 Doppelspiel in Paris Renée Borni, seine Geliebte Television movie
1984 Blaubart Rosalinde Television movie
1990 Eine Wahnsinnsehe Herta Television movie
1991 Moskau - Petuschki Fürstin Television movie

References

  1. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (2005-07-15). "The Guardian profile: Roman Polanski". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
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