Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan | |
---|---|
Born | |
Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
Spouse | Goran Gajić |
Website | www.mirafurlan.net |
Mira Furlan (born 7 September 1955) is a Croatian actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn on all five seasons of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–98), and as Danielle Rousseau on Lost.
Early life
Furlan was born to an intellectual and academic family that included a large number of university professors in Zagreb, which was at that time part of Yugoslavia. She was born to a Croatian Jewish mother,[1][2][3] and a father of Slovenian and Croatian heritage.
Career
Furlan graduated from the Academy for Dramatic Arts in Zagreb and holds a university degree, equivalent to a B.A., in theatre.[2] She was a member of the Croatian National Theatre and frequently appeared in Yugoslav television and films, including Cannes Film Festival winner When Father Was Away on Business (1985). In the 1980s, she briefly appeared as singer for Le Cinema, a spin-off from the rock band Film. She appeared on the stage in New York City and Los Angeles. She released an album, Songs From Movies That Have Never Been Made. She played Minbari Ambassador Delenn for all five seasons of Babylon 5, and some of the associated TV movies. From 2004–2010 she played Danielle Rousseau on Lost.
In 2002, she returned to Croatia after some eleven years to take the lead role in Rade Šerbedžija's Ulysses Theatre Company's production of Euripides' Medea. A collection of her columns in the now-defunct Croatian magazine, Feral Tribune, was published as a book in 2010.[4]
Personal life
Furlan's husband is director Goran Gajić,[5] who has directed her in an episode of Babylon 5 and several plays, including a production of Sophocles' Antigone.[6]
In late 1991, she and her husband, who is an ethnic Serb,[2][3] emigrated from the former Yugoslavia to escape the warfare which resulted in the breakup of the country, with the attendant political turmoil and ethnic tensions. Furlan gave birth to the couple's first child in 1998.[5]
References
- ^ "Voices of Yugoslav Jewry". The case of Mira Furlan. Paul Benjamin Gordiejew. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
- ^ a b c ""Lost" Actress Finds New Life in Hollywood". Hillel. 10 April 2006. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
- ^ a b "Celebrity Jews". Jweekly. February 24, 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ "Mira Furlan u Booksi predstavlja knjigu "Totalna rasprodaja"" (in Croatian). Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Biography for Mira Furlan". IMDb. Amazon.com. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
- ^ Philip Brandes (29 September 1995). ""Antigone" Packs Contemporary Bite". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 July 2012.