Alla Nazimova
| Alla Nazimova | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Marem-Ides (Adelaida Yakovlevna) Leventon June 3, 1879 [O.S. May 22] Yalta, Crimea, Russian Empire |
| Died | July 13, 1945 (aged 66) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Coronary thrombosis |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Glendale |
| Other names | Nazimova Alia Nasimoff |
| Occupation | Actress, screenwriter, producer |
| Years active | 1903–1944 |
| Spouse(s) | Sergei Golovin (m. 1899–1923) |
| Partner(s) |
Charles Bryant (1912-1925) Glesca Marshall (1929–1945, Nazimova's death) |
Alla Nazimova (Russian: Алла Назимова; born Marem-Ides Leventon; June 3 [O.S. May 22] , 1879 – July 13, 1945) was a Russian actress who immigrated to the United States in 1905.
On Broadway, she was noted for her work in the classic plays of Ibsen, Chekhov and Turgenev. Her efforts at silent film production were less successful, but a few sound-film performances survive as a record of her art.
Nazimova openly conducted relationships with women, and her mansion on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard was believed to be the scene of outlandish parties. She is credited with having originated the phrase ‘sewing circle’ as a discreet code for lesbian or bisexual actresses.
She was born Marem-Ides Leventon (Russian name Adelaida Yakovlevna Leventon) in Yalta, Crimea, Russian Empire. Her stage name Alla Nazimova was a combination of Alla (a diminutive of Adelaida) and the surname of Nadezhda Nazimova, the heroine of the Russian novel Children of the Streets. She was widely known as just Nazimova, and also went under the name Alia Nasimoff.
She was the youngest of three children of Jewish parents Yakov Abramovich Leventon, a pharmacist, and Sofia (Sara) Lvovna Horowitz, who moved to Yalta in 1870 from Kishinev. She grew up in a dysfunctional family; her parents divorced when she was 8. After her parents separated, she was shuffled among boarding schools, foster homes and relatives.
As a teenager she began to pursue an interest in the theatre and took acting lessons at the Academy of Acting in Moscow. She joined Constantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre using the name of Alla Nazimova for the first time.
Nazimova's theater career blossomed early; and by 1903 she was a major star in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. She toured Europe, including London and Berlin, with her boyfriend Pavel Orlenev, a flamboyant actor and producer. In 1905 they moved to New York City and founded a Russian-language theater on the Lower East Side. The venture was unsuccessful; and Orlenev returned to Russia while Nazimova stayed in New York.
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