Krystyna Janda

Krystyna Jolanta Janda (born 18 December 1952) is a Polish film and theater actress best known internationally for playing leading roles in several films by Polish director Andrzej Wajda, including Man of Marble (Człowiek z marmuru, 1976) and Man of Iron (Człowiek z żelaza, 1981). In 1981, Janda played in the Academy Award-winning movie Mephisto. In 1982, she played the lead character in Ryszard Bugajski's film Przesłuchanie (Interrogation), which first premiered seven years later in 1989, following the collapse of communism. Despite the film's late release, she garnered international acclaim for her performance, including winning Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and Polish Film Festival in 1990. In 1993, she was a member of the jury at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. Janda is also known for her leading role in the second episode of Dekalog series of Krzysztof Kieślowski. Life and work She was born on 18 December 1952 in Starachowice, Polish People's Republic. She graduated from the Wojciech Gerson State High School of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and in 1975 she graduated from the State Dramatic Arts College in Warsaw (currently the Aleksander Zelwerowicz State Theatre Academy). She made her acting debut in 1974 playing the role of Maria Kulygina in Anton Chekhov's play Three Sisters, directed by Aleksander Bardini and broadcast in a Television Theatre production. In the same year, she played the role of Mannequin 34 in a street grotesque play The Ball of Mannequins by Polish futurist poet Bruno Jasieński, directed by Janusz Warmiński. In 1976, she played in the role of Dorian Gray based on Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, adapted by John Osborne and directed by Andrzej Łapicki in Warsaw's "Little Theatre". In the years 1976–1987 she worked as an actress in the Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw.