- Maia Morgenstern
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Maia Morgenstern Born May 1, 1962
RomaniaOccupation Actor Maia Morgenstern (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈmaja ˈmorɡənʃtern]; born May 1, 1962) is a Romanian film and stage actress,[1] described by Florin Mitu of AMOS News as "a symbol of Romanian theater and film".[2] In the English-speaking world, she is probably best known for the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. In Romania, she has been nationally known since her 1992 role as Nela in Balanţa, a film known in the United States as The Oak, set during the waning days of Communist Romania.[1]
Contents
Biography
Born in Bucharest, in a Jewish family,[1] she graduated from the Film and Theatre Academy of Bucharest in 1985. She then played at Teatrul Tineretului (Youth Theater) in Piatra Neamţ until 1988, and at the Teatrul Evreiesc de Stat (State Jewish Theatre) in Bucharest 1988-1990. From 1990–1998 she was a member of the company of the National Theatre in Bucharest, and since 1998 of Teatrul Bulandra, also in Bucharest;[3] in addition, she continues to act at the Jewish State Theatre and other Bucharest theaters[1] and elsewhere in Romania.[3] Among her notable stage roles in recent years, in a Romanian-language production of The Blue Angel (Îngerul Albastru in Romanian) at Bucharest's Odeon Theater, in 2001-2 she played (to great critical acclaim) Lola Lola, the character made famous by Marlene Dietrich. At the same time, she was also playing the role of Kathleen Hogan in a Romanian-language production of Israel Horovitz's Park Your Car in Harvard Yard at the State Jewish Theater.[1]
Morgenstern has appeared in numerous films, primarily in Hungarian and Romanian-language roles. In The Passion of the Christ, she performs a role in Aramaic, but like the other actors in the cast of that film, she simply memorized her lines phonetically.[4]
Her surname, Morgenstern, means "Morning Star" in German, a title of the Virgin Mary, the character she played in The Passion of the Christ. Mel Gibson, a devout Traditionalist Catholic, thought this of great significance when casting her.[5] In interviews, she has defended The Passion against allegations of antisemitism,[6] saying that the high priest Caiaphas is portrayed not as a representative of the Jewish people, but as a leader of the establishment, adding that "Authorities throughout history have persecuted individuals with revolutionary ideas."[7]
She has been married twice, and has 3 children: Tudor Aaron, Eva Leea Cabiria and Ana Isadora.[8]
She has won several major awards as an actress:
- Best Actress for: Cei care platesc cu viaţa ("Those who pay with their lives", 1991), Romanian Filmmakers Union
- UNITER (Romanian theater association) Lucia Sturdza Bulandra Prize (1990) for her stage role as Medea in Trilogia antică (Ancient Trilogy), directed by Andrei Şerban.[8]
- Best Actress for: Balanţa (1992), European Film Awards[9]
- Best Actress for: Balanţa (1992), Cinéma Tout Ecran (Geneva Film Festival)[9]
- Best Actress for: Balanţa (1992), Romanian Filmmakers Union[9]
- UNITER best actress award (1993), for her role in Ghetto at the Romanian National Theatre.[8]
- UNITER (1995) award for her performance in the stage production of Lola Blau.[8]
- Best Film Actress for: The Passion of the Christ (2004), Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards (EMMA Awards), UK[10]
Filmography
Where translations of titles are italicized, it indicates use of the translated title for the film in English-language release.
Film Year Role Language Fata din Transilvania 2011 Romanian short La fin du silence 2011 La mere French drama Sange Tanar, Munti Si Brazi 2011 Mama Romanian drama Luna verde 2010 Simona Romanian drama Iubire si onoare (tv series) 2010–2011 Marieta Romanian Aniela (tv series) 2009–2010 Maica Stareţa Romanian The House of Terror 2008 (pre-production) Eszter Somos English Eva 2009 Maria English The Fence 2007 (in production) Herman's Mother English Mansfeld 2006 Mrs. Mansfeld Hungarian / English / Russian / German Margo 2006 Margo's Stepmother Romanian Visuri otrăvite ("Poisoned Dreams") 2006 Ada's mother Romanian 15 2005 Irene Romanian / French L'Homme pressé 2005, TV Bonne de Bois de Rose French Orient Express 2004 Amalia Frunzetti Romanian Damen tango 2004 Romanian The Passion of the Christ 2004 Mary Aramaic Căsătorie imposibilă ("Impossible marriage") 2004, TV series Romanian Bolondok éneke (Fool's Song) 2003 Gina Hungarian / French / Romanian A Rózsa énekei (Rose's Songs) 2003 Olga Hungarian Patul lui Procust (Procust's Bed)
After the novel Patul lui Procust, by Camil Petrescu2001 Doamna T. Romanian Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula 2000, TV Woman at Fountain English Marie, Nonna, la vierge et moi 2000 Nonna French Kínai védelem (Chinese Defense) 1999 Hungarian Faţă în faţă (Face to Face) 1999 Romanian Triunghiul morţii ("Triangle of Death") 1999 Regina Maria Romanian 1998, TV, short Hungarian Witman fiúk (Witman Boys) 1997 Mrs. Witman Hungarian Omul zilei (The Man of the Day) 1997 Romanian Ulysses' Gaze(original Greek title: Το Βλέμμα του Οδυσσέα, To Vlemma tou Odyssea) 1995 playing opposite Harvey Keitel as Ulysses' wife English / Greek Siódmy pokój (The Seventh Room) 1995 Edith Stein (the starring role) Hungarian Nostradamus 1994 Helen English Trahir (Betrayal, Romanian title: A trada) 1993 Woman in Prison French / Romanian Casa din vis ("The House from the Dream") 1993 Romanian Cel mai iubit dintre pămînteni ("The Earth's Most Beloved Son")
After the novel Cel mai iubit dintre pământeni, by Marin Preda1993 Romanian Balanţa (The Oak) 1992 Nela (the starring role) Romanian 1992 Romanian Băiatul cu o singură bretea, also known as Flăcăul cu o singura bretea
("The Boy with a Single Brace")1991 Romanian Cei care plătesc cu viaţa
(Those Who Pay with Their Lives)1991 Romanian Pasaj 1990 Romanian Marea sfidare ("The great defiance") 1989 Romanian Maria şi marea ("Maria and the Sea") 1988 Maria Romanian Anotimpul iubirii (The Season of Love) 1986 Romanian Secretul lui Bachus
(The Secret of Bacchus)1984 The girl in the restaurant
(as Maia Morgenstern Istodor)Romanian Dreptate în lanţuri (Chained Justice) 1983 Romanian Prea cald pentru luna mai
("Too hot for the month of May")1983 Romanian - Source: IMDB, except as noted. Accessed 21 December 2007. IMDB omits certain Romanian letters, which have been corrected.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e (Romanian) Gabriela Dumba, Pur şi SIMPLU, Maia Morgenstern, ("Pure and simple, Maia Morgenstern", but with a pun, because Simplu is a Romanian musical group with whom she had done a video), Gardianul, December 23, 2006. Accessed online December 20, 2007.
- ^ (Romanian) Florin Mitu, 2007 Interviu: Maia Morgenstern, AMOS News, November 17, 2007. He addresses her, "Sunteţi un simbol al teatrului şi filmului românesc…". Accessed online December 20, 2007.
- ^ a b (Romanian) Florin Mitu, 2007 Interviu: Maia Morgenstern, AMOS News, November 17, 2007. Accessed online December 20, 2007.
- ^ The Passion of the Christ: About the Language, CinemaReview.com. Accessed online December 20, 2007.
- ^ Marco R. della Cava, J.C., 'morning star' and Mel Gibson, USA Today, posted 2/22/2004 9:39 PM, updated 2/23/2004 11:21 AM; retrieved March 1, 2005.
- ^ 'Passion' actress: Film not anti-Semitic, CNN, February 4, 2004. Accessed 20 December 2007.
- ^ Naomi Pfefferman, Jewish Actress Proud to be Mel Gibson’s Virgin Mary, The Jewish Journal, November 1, 2003. Reproduced on the New American Media site, a site focusing on ethnic journalism. Accessed online December 20, 2007.
- ^ a b c d (Romanian) Evelyn Badea, Maia Morgenstern, femeia care ştie să aibă succes în toate, Adevărul, 20 October 2007 Accessed online 20 December 2007.
- ^ a b c Awards for Balanta (1992), IMDB. Accessed 20 December 2007.
- ^ Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards, UK: 2004, IMDB. Accessed 20 December 2007.
External links
- Maia Morgenstern at the Internet Movie Database
- (Romanian) 2007 AMOS News Interview with numerous photographs.
Categories:- Romanian stage actors
- Romanian film actors
- European Film Award for Best Actress winners
- People from Bucharest
- Romanian Jews
- Jewish actors
- 1962 births
- Living people
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