Anna Dymna (née Dziadyk ) (born 20 July 1951) is a Polish TV, film and theatre actress. Foundress of a charity foundation Mimo Wszystko (Against the Odds).
Career
Anna Dymna intended to study
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
before she decided to take an entrance examination for the
Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts
Ludwik () is a Polish given name.
Notable people with the name include:
* Ludwik Czyżewski, Polish WWII general
* Ludwik Fleck (1896–1961), Polish medical doctor and biologist
* Ludwik Gintel (1899–1973), Polish-Israeli Olympic soccer player
...
in
Cracow. While still a student, Dymna performed at the
Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Cracow. In 1969 she played the role of Isia and Chochoł in the performances of
Stanisław Wyspiański
Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (; 15 January 1869 – 28 November 1907) was a Polish playwright, painter and poet, as well as interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created a series of symbolic, national dramas withi ...
's ''
Wesele''. Dymna also made her film debut when she was still a student, playing a role in Henryk Kluba's ''Pięć i pół bladego Józka'' (1971) but, because that film was actually never shown on screens, her first official film role is considered to be the role of Gabrysia in the same year's ''Szerokiej drogi, kochanie'' directed by Andrzej J. Piotrowski. Dymna became popular with television viewers owing to her role of Klarysa in a TV series ''
Janosik'' (1973). The later role of Ania Pawlak in Polish cult
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
s ''Nie ma mocnych'' and ''Kochaj, albo rzuć'' turned out to be even more successful. She also appeared in a number of
Jerzy Hoffman
Jerzy Julian Hoffman (; born 15 March 1932) is a Polish director, screenwriter, and producer. He received the Polish Academy Life Achievement Award in February 2006.
Hoffman is best known for his works in '' The Deluge'' (1974) and ''With Fire a ...
's
melodrama films.
[Anna Dymna's biography]
at Film.Onet.pl
Dymna was employed by the National Helena Modrzejewska Old Theatre in Cracow immediately after her graduation in 1973 and has performed on its stage since then. Her major roles included characters of beautiful women, e.g. Kora in ''Noc listopadowa'' ("November night"); Anna in ''Warszawianka'' ("The Varsovian lady"); and Ania in ''
The Cherry Orchard
''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate editio ...
'' by
Anton Chekhov. Later she also performed in
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
's ''
The Magic Mountain
''The Magic Mountain'' (german: Der Zauberberg, links=no, ) is a novel by Thomas Mann, first published in German in November 1924. It is widely considered to be one of the most influential works of twentieth-century German literature.
Mann s ...
'';
Joyce's ''
Exiles''; and ''
The Master and Margarita
''The Master and Margarita'' (russian: Мастер и Маргарита) is a novel by Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940 during Stalin's regime. A censored version, with several chapters cut by ...
'' by
Mikhail Bulgakov.
Dymna has played about 250 theatrical and film roles. She has been esteemed for her talent and looks which "emanated with freshness, naturalness, girlishness and charm". Her photographs decorated covers of magazines, but her beauty became, in a way, an obstacle for portrayals of more mature characters. Such a possibility emerged in the second half of the 1980s when she experienced physical change related with motherhood.
[Anna Dymna. Biografia twórcy]
at WP.pl
In 2002 Dymna initiated the Cracow Poetry Salon, which has become a weekly reading of
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
by most distinguished actors and poets. The Salon takes place each Sunday at
Juliusz Słowacki Theatre but it already has its separate branches in some other cities of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, e.g. in
Częstochowa,
Gdańsk,
Opole and
Tarnów
Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn ...
. The Cracow Poetry Salon was granted the
Nike Award
The Nike Literary Award ( pl, Nagroda Literacka „Nike") is a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish and published the previous year. It is widely considered the most important award fo ...
in 2003 for "the most interesting cultural activity in the region".
[The corresponding article at Polish Wikipedia, as of July 6, 2008]
Charity work
Dymna has been involved in
charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* C ...
for many years. In 1999 she started co-operation with the St.
Brother Albert Foundation which organizes charity performances with
therapist
Therapist is a person who offers any kinds of therapy
A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis.
As a rule, each therapy has indi ...
s and their disabled charges. Two years later she originated the "Albertiana" National Festival of Theatre and Musical Works of Disabled Persons.
Finally, in the year 2003 Dymna established her own charity foundation, called Mimo Wszystko ("Against the Odds") which aims at improvement in the living conditions of the poor and disabled people.
Against the Odds Foundation
This aim is to be achieved by gradual diminishment of mental barriers that exist between the disabled and the healthy citizens of society, as well as by equalising opportunities for them.
Dymna is also the co-author of a TV program ''Spotkajmy się'' ("Let's meet"), in which she talks with her ill and disabled guests about "love, acceptance, loneliness, happiness, faith and hope".[Against the Odds Foundation](_blank)
The program is produced in an intimate and peaceful atmosphere.
She also supported actions focused on help for the refugees from Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
.
Personal life
Dymna was married to artist Wiesław Dymny from 1973 until his death in 1978. She often emphasized the impact her first husband had on her, owing to his colourful personality. On the 20th anniversary of his death, she asked Big Cyc
Big Cyc ("Cyc" is Polish for " Tit") is a Polish rock band formed in March 1988.
The band is well known in Poland for their controversial behaviour. The cover of their first album, ''Z partyjnym pozdrowieniem'' (Polish for ''With a Party Greeting ...
, the favourite band of her son, to write three songs on the basis of Wiesław Dymny's texts.
She remarried in 1983 to Zbigniew Szota and they had a son, Michał (born 1985). They divorced in 1989. Later on she got married for the third time. Her current husband, Krzysztof Orzechowski, is an actor and theatre director
A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
.
Awards
Anna Dymna has received many important awards for her art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
istic achievements, including the Golden Mask (1996, 1999, 2000); the Golden Screen in 1984; and the Golden Lions in 1994. The President of the Republic of Poland
The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...
awarded her with the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 2004. Disabled children granted her the Order of the Smile for her charity involvement in the same year.
Other noticeable awards for Anna Dymna include:[Against the Odds Foundation](_blank)
* Silver Cross of Merit (1989)
* Golden Duck (1993)
*Aleksandra Zelwerowicz Award (1994)
* Brother Albert’s Medal (2000)
*Superwiktor (2004)
*Friend of Integration (2004)
*''Ecce Homo'' Order (2005)
*Polish Doctors' Society Medal of Merit (2006)
*St. George's Medal (2006)
*The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity
The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (GOCC, Polish ''Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy'', WOŚP) is the biggest, non-governmental, non-profit, charity organization in Poland raising money for pediatric and elderly care. The GOCC Foundatio ...
Foundation Medal (2007)
*Woman of the Year 2006 of the ''Twój Styl'' magazine (2007)
*Benemerenti Diploma (2007)
*''Super Lodołamacz'' (2007)[Anna Dymna Super Lodołamaczem 2007]
/ref>
References
External links
*
Bibliography
* Baniewicz, Elżbieta (2001), ''Anna Dymna, Ona to ja'', Warsaw: Grupa Wydawnicza Bertelsmann Media,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dymna, Anna
Polish actresses
People from Legnica
Actresses from Kraków
1951 births
Living people
20th-century Polish actresses
Polish film actresses
Polish stage actresses
Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Silver Cross of Merit (Poland)
Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis
Polish disability rights activists
Polish television actresses