Jana Synková (18 April 1944 – 28 December 2024) was a Czech actress.

Early life and career

Jana Synková was born during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, then the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...

. Her maternal grandparents were well-known theatre personalities and she attended an acting club from an early age. After graduating from high school, Synková was accepted to the theatre in

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It lies on the left bank of the Jizera (river), Jizera River. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. I ...

for a year. She studied acting at the

Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Department of Dramatic Theatre (, abbreviated DAMU) is one of three departments at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (alongside the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, ...

and graduated in 1967. During her studies, she attended the Maringotka experimental theatre from 1964 to 1965. In 1967 she got her first engagement at the F. X. Šalda Theatre in

Liberec Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...

, where she played several supporting roles. In 1969, she joined the ensemble of the Naive Theatre in Liberec. In the 1970s, there were important changes in theatre culture here, with the formation of the Ypsilon Theatre, which moved to Prague at the end of 1978. Here, Synková developed comedic skills with a preference for the grotesque. She toured all over Europe with the Ypsilon Theatre. In 1974, she received the Literature Fund's Creative Award. From the mid-1960s, she appeared in small film roles, including in the 1969 film ''Farářův konec''. After the Ypsilon Theatre moved to Prague, more opportunities to work in film and television arose, so that she took on several supporting roles in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s, larger roles followed, for example, she played Aunt Kateřina in the 1994 film ''

Saturnin Saturnin of Toulouse (, , , , and , , and ) was one of the ''" Apostles to the Gauls"'' sent out (probably under the direction of Pope Fabian, 236–250) during the consulate of Decius and Gratus (250–251) to Christianise Gaul after the pers ...

'', for whose performance she was nominated for the

Czech Lion Awards The Czech Lion Awards () are annual awards that recognize accomplishments in filmmaking and television. It is the highest award of achievement in film awarded in the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historica ...

as Best Supporting Actress. In 1996 she played a psychologist in the film ''Kamenný most'', in the three parts of the film project '' Byl jednou jeden polda''. In the television series ''

Život na zámku ''Život na zámku'' (English: Life at the Mansion) is a Czech television series from 1995. It was filmed from spring 1994 to October 1998 in Kolín and at Roztěž Castle. The series had audience share 34.4% and was in its time one of the most wa ...

'' she played the director. In 2019 she was again nominated for the Czech Lion for Best Supporting Actress for the film ''Chata na prodej''.

Personal life and death

Synková married Jan Schmid (1936–2024) in 1974, with whom she had two children. She died on 28 December 2024, half a year after her husband, after a long illness, at a sanatorium in

. Synková was 80.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Synkova, Jana 1944 births 2024 deaths Actresses from Prague Czech film actresses Czech stage actresses Czech television actresses Czechoslovak film actresses Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni