Lea Koenig (or Lia Koenig; Hebrew: ליא קניג, Yiddish: ליאַ קעניג; born Lea Kamien; 30 November 1929) is an Israeli actress,[1] nicknamed The First Lady of Israeli Theatre.[2]
Lea Koenig | |
|---|---|
| |
 Koenig circa 1999 or 2000 | |
| Born | Lea Kamien 30 November 1929 |
| Alma mater | Bucharest National University of Arts |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1948–present |
| Spouse | Zvi Hirshl Stolper |
Biography
editLea Koenig was born in 1929 in Łódź, Poland, to a secular Jewish family of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Her parents were the Yiddish actors Dina and Józef Kamień.[1] She spent her childhood in Poland, then in Tashkent, in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. Her father was murdered in the Holocaust. In the end of the 1940s, Lea Koenig with her mother emigrated to Romania, where she began studying at National University of Arts in Bucharest and debuted at Jewish Theatre.[3] In 1961, she emigrated to Israel.
Primarily acting in Hebrew, Koenig performs in Israel and all over the world also in Yiddish theaters.[4] She speaks English, Hebrew, German, Polish, Romanian, Russian and Yiddish.
Awards and honors
edit- In 1987, Koenig was awarded the Israel Prize for acting.[5]
- Both the Tel Aviv University and Bar-Ilan University have conferred Honorary Doctorates on her.
- In 2012 she received the EMET Prize for art and culture
- In 2018 Koenig was honored as one of the ceremonial torchbearers for Israel's 70th Independence Day[6]
See also
editExternal links
editReferences
edit- 1 2 Official website; Parents (hebrew) Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Shalom - “I.B. SINGER’S WARSAW” OF WARSAW JEWISH CULTURAL FESTIVAL Archived 2012-03-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Biography in hebrew Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Biography Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Israel Prize Official Site - Recipients in 1987 (in Hebrew)". Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ↑ "אלה מדליקי המשואות ביום העצמאות ה-70" [These are the torchlighters on the 70th Independence Day]. ynet (in Hebrew). 2018-04-08. Retrieved 2026-06-14.