Sabrina Grigorian ( hy, Սաբրինա Մարկոսի Գրիգորյան; 1956–1986) was an Italian-born

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

actress.

Life and career

Sabrina Grigorian was born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, on July 28, 1956, to artist Marcos Grigorian and Flora Adamian. After the divorce of her parents, Sabrina was brought up by her father and Sabrina acquired primary schooling in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

at a special school for talented children. She then later attended high school at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Coming back to Tehran she met Patricia Zich, theater director at the Community School, and also director of The Masquers, an international theater organization of young adults in Tehran. Zich recognized Sabrina's extraordinary artistic talent. After graduating from high school Sabrina went to London, auditioned and was admitted to the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

to study acting. During those years Sabrina traveled extensively. She went to

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, to Switzerland,

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Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and many other places absorbing all the knowledge she could. She was fluent in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French, was familiar with

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Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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. As a student Sabrina played a dozen different roles ranging from supporting to Leading ones in Tehran and at

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

. During her training as an actress in Tehran and later at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Sabrina played Rosa Gonzalez in

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

Summer and Smoke ''Summer and Smoke'' is a two-part, thirteen-scene play by Tennessee Williams, completed in 1948. He began working on the play in 1945 as ''Chart of Anatomy'', derived from his short stories "Oriflamme" and the then-work-in-progress "Yellow Bir ...

", Hippolyta in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's " A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Emilia in " Othello", Masha in Anton Chekhov's " The Three Sisters", Dina in Ibsen's "The Pillar of the Community", Belvidera in Thomas Ottoway's " Venice Preserved", the Dark Lady in

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's "

The Dark Lady of the Sonnets ''The Dark Lady of the Sonnets'' is a 1910 short comedy by George Bernard Shaw in which William Shakespeare, intending to meet the "The Dark Lady, Dark Lady", accidentally encounters Queen Elizabeth I and attempts to persuade her to create a nat ...

", Margot in Frances H. Goodrich's " Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl", Corie in

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

's "

Barefoot in the Park ''Barefoot in the Park'' is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The play premiered on Broadway in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. It was made into a film in 1967, which starred Redford and Jane Fonda. Productions ''Barefoot ...

", Mrs. Martin in

Eugene Ionesco Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

's "

The Bald Soprano ''La Cantatrice chauve '' – translated from French as ''The Bald Soprano'' or ''The Bald Prima Donna'' – is the first play written by Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco. Nicolas Bataille directed the premiere on 11 May 1950 at the ...

" and Medea in

Robinson Jeffers John Robinson Jeffers (January 10, 1887 – January 20, 1962) was an American poet, known for his work about the central California coast. Much of Jeffers's poetry was written in narrative and epic form. However, he is also known for his short ...

' Adaptation of the Euripides' play. During her short lifetime on the stage Sabrina portrayed, created such impressive characters that her audience and her teachers and directors were filled with admiration. For three years, Sabrina was editorial and research assistant to

Gene Shalit Eugene Shalit (born March 25, 1926) is an American retired journalist, television personality, Film criticism, film and Literary criticism, book critic and author. After starting to work part-time on NBC's ''Today (American TV program), The Toda ...

, the director of the "

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" show at

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. While working at New York City, she wrote several theatrical and musical commentaries and articles which were published in Delta Sky Magazine,

Ladies Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In ...

, Diversion Magazine and other periodicals. She also prepared scripts for "on-air" viewing. She died on July 10, 1986, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

, and is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushin ...

, Queens, New York City.

References

External links

Gevorg Abajyan "Sabrina Grigorian", Publisher: Yerevan, Armenia : Near East Museum, 2000
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grigorian, Sabrina 1956 births Actresses from Tehran Italian expatriates in Iran Italian emigrants to the United States American people of Armenian descent American actresses Italian people of Armenian descent 1986 deaths Ethnic Armenian actresses 20th-century American women