Ivana Ivanova Gendova ( bg, Ивана Иванова Гендова; 22 December 1899 – 14 February 1976), better known as Zhana Gendova (Жана Гендова), was a

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

actress. She was also the wife of the Bulgarian movie pioneer Vasil Gendov.

Biography

Gendova was born in Sliven on 22 December 1899. She moved to Berlin and studied drama education. Later on, she participated in the drama courses and lessons of Sava Ognyanov and

Elena Snezhina Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet Geography * Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...

. Her first debut was in 1917, a movie called ''Lyubovta e Ludost'' or in English ''Love Is Madness''. She actively participated in most of Vasil Gendov's movies as an actress, producer and assistant director between 1917 and 1937. From 1920 until 1938, Gendova and her husband Vasil Gendov created the travelling drama theatre "Bulgarian Theatre", in which they acted, and which was later renamed to Sensational Theatre. She was also the author of ''That, Which is Unspoken in the History of the Bulgarian film'', a memoir book. Gendova also became a founding member of the Bulgarian Film Actors Union in 1934. She is considered to be one of the pioneers of Bulgarian cinema.

Major roles

Stage

Throughout her career, Zhana participated in many theater plays, with the most influential being: * Salome in ''

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

'' by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

. * Ophelia in '' Hamlet'' by William Shakespeare. * Gervaise in ''

L'Assommoir ''L'Assommoir'' , published as a serial in 1876, and in book form in 1877, is the seventh novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series ''Les Rougon-Macquart''. Usually considered one of Zola's masterpieces, the novel — a study of alcoholism ...

'' by Émile Zola * Esmerelda in '' The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

Cinema

* ''Zemyata Gori'' (1937

* ''Buntat na Robite'' (1933

* ''Ulichni Bozhestva'' (1929

* ''Patyat na Bezpatnite'' (1928

* ''Chovekat, koyto zabravi boga'' (1927

* ''Voenni deystviya v mirno vreme'' (1922) * ''Voenni deystviya v mirno vreme'' (1922) * ''Dyavolat v Sofia'' (1921) * ''Lyubovta e Ludost'' (1917)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gendova, Zhana Bulgarian actresses 1899 births 1976 deaths Bulgarian stage actresses Bulgarian film actresses Bulgarian silent film actresses 20th-century Bulgarian actresses People from Sliven