Barbara Brylska

Barbara Brylska is a Polish actress who starred in films made in Poland, Russia, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. She was born on June 5, 1941, in Skotniki, near Lodz, Poland. Her early childhood was marked by the trauma of survival under the Nazi occupation of Poland during the Second World War. She made her film debut at age 15, in a small role in Kalosze szczescia (1958). She studied acting at Lodz Theatre School, then studied at Warsaw School of Theatre, Cinema and Television, graduating in 1964 as an actress. Barbara Brylska shot to fame with her supporting role as Kama in Pharaoh (1966), an Oscar nominated period drama by director Jerzy Kawalerowicz. Then she played a supporting role as Krzysia Drohojowska in Colonel Wolodyjowski (1969), a period film by director Jerzy Hoffman. Brylska established herself as a fine actress, she was busy in East European cinema during the 60s and 70s. In 1975 Brylska received a phone call from Moscow director Eldar Ryazanov, th