Ena Begović (8 July 1960 – 15 August 2000) was a prominent Yugoslav film actress. She is regarded as one of the best and most beautiful actresses in

former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

Early life and career

Begović was born in

Trpanj Trpanj ( it, Trappano), is a municipality of Dubrovnik-Neretva County in south-eastern Croatia. According to the 2001 census, Trpanj has a population of 871. Croats make up 93.11% of the population. History Etymology There is more than one theor ...

to Terezija and Nikola Begović. Three years later, in January 1963, her sister

Mia Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 1983) ...

, who is also an actress, was born. Her father was originally from the municipality of

, on the

Pelješac Pelješac (; Chakavian: ; it, Sabbioncello) is a peninsula in southern Dalmatia in Croatia. The peninsula is part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is the second largest peninsula in Croatia. From the isthmus that begins at Ston, to the to ...

peninsula. Begović began acting early, making her first

screen Screen or Screens may refer to: Arts * Screen printing (also called ''silkscreening''), a method of printing * Big screen, a nickname associated with the motion picture industry * Split screen (filmmaking), a film composition paradigm in which mul ...

appearance at the age of 18 through a small part in ''

Occupation in 26 Pictures ''Occupation in 26 Pictures'' ( sh, Okupacija u 26 slika; also distributed internationally as ''Occupation in 26 Tableaux'') is a 1978 Yugoslavian war film directed by Lordan Zafranović. It was entered into the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. The f ...

'', a 1978 film directed by

Lordan Zafranović Lordan Zafranović (born 11 February 1944) is a Czech-Croatian film director. He was a major figure of the Yugoslav Black Wave. Early life Lordan Zafranović was born in 1944 in Maslinica, island of Šolta, Dalmatia, during the fascist occupati ...

. She made her breakthrough role in Zafranović's next film, ''

The Fall of Italy ''The Fall of Italy'' ( hr, Pad Italije), is a 1981 Yugoslav war film directed by Lordan Zafranović. It won the Big Golden Arena for Best Film at the 1981 Pula Film Festival Pula Film Festival ( hr, Pulski filmski festival) is an annual Croa ...

'' (1981), where she played Veronika, the daughter of a wealthy local from the

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

n coast who sided with the occupying Italian Fascists. This debut established Begović as one of the

sex symbol A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive.Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to ...

s of 1980s

Yugoslav cinema The Cinema of Yugoslavia were the films produced in Yugoslavia. Overview The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had an internationally acclaimed film industry. Yugoslavia submitted many films to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Languag ...

, a status that she later successfully maintained despite appearing in relatively few films as her acting career shifted towards theater. In the 1990s, the public focused more of its attention on her personal life than on her acting. In 1996, while driving her car in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, she was involved in a traffic accident resulting in the death of a motorcyclist.

Death

On 15 August 2000, in the village of

Postira Postira is a village and a municipality in Croatia in the Split-Dalmatia County on the island of Brač. Geography The village of Postira is located on the northern coast of the island of Brač, eight kilometers from the island's port of Supetar ...

on the island of

Brač Brač is an island in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia, with an area of , making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. It is separated from the mainland by the Brač Channel, which is wide. The island's talle ...

, a few months after marrying the Croatian businessman Josip Radeljak Dikan, and a month and a half after giving birth to their daughter, Lana, she was involved as a passenger in a traffic accident, a rollover, which claimed her life. She was buried at

Mirogoj Cemetery The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, hr, Gradsko groblje Mirogoj), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery ( hr, Groblje Mirogoj), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members o ...

in Zagreb, on 19 August.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Begovic, Ena 1960 births 2000 deaths Croatian film actresses Golden Arena winners Road incident deaths in Croatia Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Yugoslav actresses