Aini Helena Kara (originally Aini Helena Dahl, 16 August 1916 – 26 February 2002) was a Finnish film actress. Like

Lea Joutseno Lea Ruth Margit Joutseno (formerly Jönsson, 6 November 1910, Helsinki – 20 June 1977) was a Finnish actress, screenwriter and a translator. She became known as a blonde comedian in the 1940s after appearing in several Valentin Vaala's films. Al ...

and

Regina Linnanheimo Axa Regina Elisabeth Linnanheimo (until 1924 Leino, since 1948 Regina Mörner, 7 September 1915, Helsinki – 24 January 1995) was a Finnish actress and screenwriter. Her sister Rakel Linnanheimo (1908–2004) was also an actress. Linnanheimo w ...

, she was one of the few Finnish film actors without a theatrical background. Kara is best remembered for her role in a 1943 melodrama ''Valkoiset ruusut''.

Childhood and early life

Helena Kara was born in

Salo Salo or Salò may refer to: Places Finland *Salo, Finland, a town in Western Finland **Salo sub-region, a subdivision of Finland Proper and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009 *An old name of Saloinen, a former municipality in Ostroboth ...

into a family of four children. Until 1927, her family name was Dahl. While working as a ticket vendor in a

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

cinema in 1937, she met the head of Suomi-Filmi production company,

Risto Orko Risto Orko (born Risto Eliel William Nylund; 15 September 1899 – 29 September 2001) was a Finnish film producer and director. Orko was born in Rauma. With a career of over 60 years at the film studio Suomi-Filmi, he rose to be head of pro ...

, who invited her for a screen test. She soon appeared in her first film, ''Miehen kylkiluu'' (1937), directed by Orvo Saarikivi.

Marriage and later life

Kara married director

Hannu Leminen Hannu Päiviö Leminen (originally Hanno Leminen; 5 January 1910 in Helsinki – 6 June 1997 in Turku) was a Finnish film director, set designer, screenwriter and later an executive at the Finnish Broadcasting Company. During his career, Leminen d ...

(1910–1997) on 10 February 1940, and their marriage lasted until Leminen's death. They had three children together. Kara and Leminen also made 12 films together. After getting married, Kara only appeared three times in films that were not directed by her husband. ''Valkoiset ruusut'' (1943) is generally considered to be the highlight of their work together. Helena Kara has stated that an accident was the main reason for her giving up the film business after the 1952 film ''Hän tuli ikkunasta''. A dog bit her in the face so that a visible scar was left. She did not want to be in films anymore. For decades, she shied away from all publicity. In the 1990s, she appeared in a television document capturing her life, and in 2002 she died at the age of 85. In his retirement years, Kara and her husband lived winters in the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and summers in

Klaukkala Klaukkala (; sv, Klövskog , ) is the southern-most urban area ( fi, taajama) of the Nurmijärvi municipality in Uusimaa, Finland, located near Lake Valkjärvi. It is the largest urban area in Nurmijärvi, and despite the fact that it officially ...

near the Lake Valkjärvi.

Filmography

*''Miehen kylkiluu'' (1937) *''Poikamiesten holhokki'' (1938) *''Hätävara'' (1939) *''Punahousut'' (1939) *''Aktivistit'' (1939) *''Kyökin puolella'' (1940) *''Poikani pääkonsuli'' (1940) *''Neljä naista'' (1942) *''Puck'' (1942) *''Valkoiset ruusut'' (1943) *''Tuomari Martta''(1943) *''Suurin voitto'' (1944) *''Sylvi'' (1944) *''Anja tule kotiin'' (1944) *''En ole kreivitär'' (1945) *''Vain sinulle'' (1945) *''

Hedelmätön puu ''Tree Without Fruit'' (Finnish: ''Hedelmätön puu'') is a 1947 Finnish drama film directed by Hannu Leminen and starring Helena Kara, Rauli Tuomi and Joel Rinne.Uusitalo p.285 Cast * Helena Kara as Helena Tyrni * Rauli Tuomi as Erkki Tyrni ...

'' (1947) *''Tuhottu nuoruus'' (1947) *''Soita minulle, Helena!'' (1948) *''Rosvo-Roope'' (1949) *''Tapahtui kaukana'' (1950) *''Ratavartijan kaunis Inkeri'' (1950) *''Hän tuli ikkunasta'' (1952)

Sources

*Laine, Kimmo & Seitajärvi, Juha (eds.): ''Valkoiset ruusut: Hannu Lemisen & Helena Karan elämä ja elokuvat.'' Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 2008.
Kansallinen audiovisuaalinen arkisto: Helena Kara in memoriam.
Retrieved 2013-01-27.

''Helsingin Sanomat'', 26 February 2002. Retrieved 2019-02-06. (In Finnish.)
Helena Kara
at Elonet.fi. Retrieved 2019-02-06.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kara, Helena 1916 births 2002 deaths People from Salo, Finland People from Turku and Pori Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish film actresses 20th-century Finnish actresses