Nazimova, Alla

(1879-1945)

   Born Alla Leventon at Yalta in the Crimea, Russia, she first studied music, but at 17 began training for the stage under Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, and joined the Moscow Art Theatre's school in 1898. In 1905, she came to the United States with Paul Orlenoff's company from St. Petersburg, where she had been performing since 1903, including the role of Mrs. Alving in Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts. Nazimova remained in the United States when the Orlenoff company returned to Russia. She reportedly learned English in six months, then made her English-speaking debut as Hedda Gabler in 1906. It was A Doll's House in 1907 that made her a star of the American stage. In 1910, the Shuberts inaugurated the Nazimova Theatre with her starring in Ibsen's Little Eyolf. After performing on tour and in a number of melodramas, she joined the Civic Repertory Theatre in 1928, developing a personal as well as professional relationship with its artistic director, Eva Le Gallienne.