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Mira Furlan
Who is Mira Furlan?Mira Furlan is a noted former Yugoslavian actress, currently best known to the western world for her portrayal of the Minbari Ambassador "Delenn" on the award winning series Babylon 5. Her Yugoslavian credits include Emir Kusterica's "When Father Was Away on Business" ("Otac na sluzbenom putu"), winner of the "Palme d'or" at Cannes for best film in 1985, which was also nominated for an Oscar that same year, and Rajko Grlic's "Three for Happiness" ("Za srecu je potrebno troje"). She is also the winner of two Golden Arena's (Yugoslavia's equivalent of the Oscar), for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Cyclops" ("Kiklop") in 1982 and for Best Actress for her portrayal of "Jaglika" in "The Beauty of Vice" ("Lepota poroka") in 1986, as well as winning Yugoslavia's most prestigious theatrical award, the Dubravko Dujsin, in 1990 for her portrayal of Natalya Petrovna in Turgenev's "A Month in the Country" at the Croatian National Theatre. In 1995 she won the Dramalogue Theatre Award for Best Actress for "Antigone" (which also won Best Production, and Best Director for her husband Goran Gajic) staged at the Hudson Guild Theatre in Los Angeles. Biographical InformationMs. Furlan was born on the 7th of September in Zagreb, then part of the former Yugoslavia, now the capital city of the Republic of Croatia. She grew up surrounded by books and learning in the company of three university professors, her father and mother (Branka Weil), and her grandmother (Ljuba Kosar). Mira's grandmother taught her to speak German at an early age and then later French, and her mother, who was an avid theatregoer, introduced her to the magic of the dramatic arts when she was still very young. The high school that she attended was heavily oriented towards English and other languages, and it was there that she had her first taste of acting thanks to one of her teachers, an Englishman named David Jolley(sp?). Mira went on to attend the University of Zagreb, to further her language studies with the original intention of pursuing a career as a simultaneous translator, and at the same time enrolled in Zagreb's Academy for Theatre, Film and Television. During her second year at the academy she began to get her first acting jobs and by her fourth year there was starring in a series on Zagreb TV ("Velo Misto" or "The Little Big Town"). Ms. Furlan then became a member of the Croatian National Theatre Company where she played major parts in the world's dramatic classics, including works by Shaw, Moliere and Brecht. She also performed regularly at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, playing "Ophelia" in a production of "Hamlet" directed by the brilliant Czechoslovakian director Jiri Menzel ("Closely Watched Trains") and as "Gloria" in Marinkovic's "Gloria". Her first film role in 1982 won her the Golden Arena for Best Supporting Actress. Singing in a band for the fun of it in the mid-1980's, she met a young, charming director who had come to do a rock video of one of the songs. The video never did get made, but Mira had met the love of her life, and her husband to be, the talented director Goran Gajic. He was studying film in Belgrade at the time so Mira moved there to be with him and began to take roles at some of the Belgrade theatres but continuing to work in her hometown of Zagreb as well. As the former-Yugoslavia began to tear itself apart in 1991 with nationalist sentiments, ethnic divisions and war, Ms. Furlan was performing at BITEF, an international theatre festival in Belgrade, along with actors from all over the world. Her statement in the program, that art should not serve any political or nationalist ideas, angered fanatics on both sides of the conflict and a campaign of hatred was begun against her in the press. Publicly vilified and subjected to abuse, she was accused in Croatia of treason and dubbed the "Serbian whore", and branded as a spy in Serbia. Strangers called her and left messages on her answering machine describing in lurid detail exactly how she was to be brutally massacred. Yet she received not a single call from any of her friends or colleagues. On the first of November 1991, she penned the powerful epistle "A Letter to My Co-Citizens" which was published in the newspapers in both Belgrade and Zagreb. Some two weeks later she and her husband flew from Belgrade to New York to begin their new lives. Mira has found, and won the hearts of, a new audience with her compelling portrayal of the Minbari Ambassador "Delenn", on the award winning series "Babylon 5". Since her arrival in the U.S. she has also performed in a number of theatrical productions, a made-for-television movie, and released a new CD. In 1998, Mira gave birth to her and Goran's first child. Marko Lav Gajic, a healthy 6 lb. 10 oz, 19 inch baby boy, was warmly welcomed at 5:45 am PST on December 15 at Cedars of Sinai Medical Center. The Gajic family currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Furlan's Official Fan ClubThe Mira Furlan Fan Club, PO Box 523093, Springfield, VA 22152-9998. $10/year ($15 overseas) in US currencies. The person in charge of the fan club is Cristina Scalise (TheMFFC@aol.com). Membership benefits are a quarterly newsletter, a copy of Ms. Furlan's resume, a short autobiography and photos. The fanclub is also listed in section 4.1 of this FAQ. The Fan Club published a quarterly newsletter which accepted original artwork, poetry, short stories, and articles, as well as photos, pen-pals, and classified ads. The Fan Club is currently inactive. Mira's BirthdayMs Furlan's birthday is September 7th There are places on the net where her year of birth is listed. At best this is a piece of unconfirmed speculation. It is based on math done from information in an article that used a pieces of Ms. Furlan's "Letter to My Co-Citizens" without her permission. Unfortunately it has been bandied about on the net for so long that some sites are starting to quote it as gospel. In my opinion it could be out by as much as five years. Her favorite colorsWhen Mira was a guest at Earthstation Edmonton in March 1997, during her second presentation she was asked what her favorite colour was. She answered purple, mauve and pink, all colours that are forbidden on stage. Interestingly her costumes from "Cranes" were purple and hot pink. Charities she supportsMira Furlan gives her support to many good causes.
http://www.warchild.org/home.html War Child was founded upon a fundamental goal: to advance the cause of peace through investing hope in the lives of children caught up in the horrors of war.
B.a.B.e. is a strategic group located in Zagreb, Croatia, which works for the affirmation and implementation of women's human rights. The group believes the advancement of women is impossible unless their equal rights are fully protected. B.a.B.e. lobbies for the recognition and improved status of women's human rights, such as: the right to be free of violence, both at home and in the public sphere; the right to reproductive choice and reproductive health, including the decision of when to create and how to raise children, and the rights to equal and full participation in all aspects of society, especially in leadership roles and decision-making. What films has she been in?
What are her Television credits?
What are her Theater credits?
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