Lila Kedrova Movies and Career Information

Lila Kedrova (Russian: Ли́ля Кедро́ва; October 9, 1918 – February 16, 2000) was a Russian-born French actress. Though born in Petrograd, Russia, Kedrova spent most of her life in France. In 1932, she joined the Moscow Art Theatre touring company. Then her film career began, mostly in French films, until her first English appearance in 1964 as Mme Hortense in Zorba the Greek. Her performance won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She then went on to play a series of eccentric or batty ladies in several Hollywood films. In 1983, she reprised her role as Mme Hortense on Broadway in the musical version of Zorba the Greek, winning both a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award in the process. In 1989 she played Madame Armfeldt in the London revival of A Little Night Music. Lila Kedrova died at her summer home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, of pneumonia, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.