Alla Nazimova

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Aleksandrovna and the family name is Nazimova.
Alla Nazimova
Nazimova in 1913
Born
Marem-Ides Leventon[1] (Russian name: Adelaida Yakovlevna Leventon)

(1879-06-03)June 3, 1879 [O.S. May 22]
Yalta, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire
DiedJuly 13, 1945(1945-07-13) (aged 66)[2]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesNazimova
Alia Nasimoff
Occupations
  • Actress
  • director
  • producer
  • screenwriter
Years active1903–1944
Spouse
Sergei Golovin
​
​
(m. 1899; div. 1923)​
Partner(s)Charles Bryant (1912–1925)
Glesca Marshall (1929–1945)
RelativesVal Lewton (nephew)
WebsiteOfficial website

Alla Aleksandrovna Nazimova (Russian: Алла Александровна Назимова, born Marem-Ides Leventon; June 3 [O.S. May 22], 1879 – July 13, 1945) was a Russian-American actress, director, producer and screenwriter.

On Broadway, she was noted for her work in the classic plays of Ibsen, Chekhov and Turgenev. She later moved on to film, where she served many production roles, both writing and directing films under pseudonyms. Her film Salome (1922) is regarded as a cultural landmark. Nazimova was bisexual and openly conducted relationships with women while being married to a man.[3] She created the Garden of Allah hotel which became a retreat for many celebrities of the time. She is credited with having originated the phrase "sewing circle" as a discreet code for lesbian or bisexual actresses.

  1. ^ Banham, Martin (1995). The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge University Press. p. 782. Adelaida Yakovlevna Leventon
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference silentsaregolden was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Woods, Leigh (November 2006). "War and Peace, 1914-1918". Transatlantic Stage Stars in Vaudeville and Variety: Celebrity Turns. Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 185. ISBN 978-1-4039-7536-2. The star [Alla Nazimova] may have had other motives [for starring in War Brides]. She was what now would be called bisexual. In the way of the day, she didn't want the public to know it, but neither was she very attentive to preserving the illusion of her wedded bliss...Some time after War Brides—which among its other demands kept her on the road off and on with [husband Charles] Bryant for a year—she fell in with the self-proclaimed Ukrainian expatriate-cum-designer/performer, Natasha Rambova (née Winifred Shaughnessy; a.k.a. Winifred Hudnut).