Actress Kim Novak: biography, personal life, films and photos

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Kim Novak is an American actress and artist. She is best known today to the general public for her starring role in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, as well as her work in Picnic, The Man with the Golden Arm and Pal Joey. After she stopped her career as an actress in 1966, she appeared in only a few projects.

Childhood and youth

Kim Novak (real name Marilyn Novak) was born February 13, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois. Both parents are of Czech descent. After graduating from high school, she entered Wright Jr. College.

During her studies, she won a scholarship from the Chicago Institute, studied at the School of Art at the institution. In her youth, Kim Novak worked during the summer holidays. Traveled around the country as part of an advertising campaign from a refrigerator manufacturer.

Career start

While working as a model, along with other girls involved in the advertising campaign of refrigerators, she appeared in the extras of two Hollywood films. That's where shewas spotted by a talent agent who believed in Kim Novak and helped her sign a long-term contract with Hollywood's Columbia Studios.

The executives were looking for a new star to replace Rita Hayworth, the most famous actress of the forties in Hollywood. Novak was chosen by the producers in large part due to the fact that another blonde, Marilyn Monroe, successfully worked on the projects of the rival studio 20th Century Fox.

The first major role for aspiring actress Kim Novak was the 1954 crime drama Easy Prey. The same year, she appeared in the romantic comedy Phi alongside Jack Lemmon.

Both films performed well at the box office, with Kim earning critical acclaim with her work.

The following year, the actress starred in the dark crime drama Five Against the Casino. The film did not perform well at the box office, receiving mixed reviews from critics.

Big Breakthrough

The film "Picnic" turned out to be a real turning point in Kim Novak's career. The melodrama became a real hit at the box office. She received six nominations for the prestigious Academy Award, including Best Picture, and Novak herself won the Golden Globe statuette as the best rising star among actresses. In 1955, she appeared in the crime drama The Man with the Golden Arm, where her screen partner was the legendary Frank Sinatra. This movie did a great jobherself at the box office, and Kim received positive reviews for her work in the project from professional critics.

The next project in Kim Novak's career was the biographical drama The Eddie Dachin Story, where she played the main character's wife. During filming, the actress could not find a common language with Tyrone Power, who plays the main role, and almost left the project. Nevertheless, despite the difficulties in filming, the film became a box office hit.

Also, the actress appeared in the title role in the film "Genie Eagles", a film about a movie star and her addiction to heroin. The film was successful among critics and audiences, but the Eagles family sued the studio because of the inconsistency of the plot with the facts of the life of the real Genie.

After a series of successful projects, Kim Novak became one of the main Hollywood stars of that time. Her next film is the musical "Pal Joey", where she again worked with Frank Sinatra. The picture collected a lot of money at the box office, but some critics did not appreciate Novak's work.

Of course, the main film in the biography of Kim Novak is the thriller of the great director Alfred Hitchcock "Vertigo". Initially, the main role in it was to be played by actress Vera Miles, who dropped out of the project due to pregnancy. Hitchcock offered the role to Novak, who accepted after reading the script.

However, the collaboration between actress and director was by no means easy. At that time, Novak demanded a salary increase from the studio.and she was almost suspended from work on the painting. She tried to make changes to the script, to refine the character of the character, which the authoritative director did not like at all. In the end, he still allowed Kim to make some changes in the image.

After its premiere, the film "Vertigo" received negative reviews from critics and failed at the box office, which led to the termination of the long-term cooperation between Hitchcock and the leading actor James Stewart. However, over time, the film gained cult status and today is considered one of the greatest in the history of cinema.

The decline of a career and leaving the profession

In subsequent years, Kim Novak continued to work actively, but projects with her participation were no longer as successful as before. She worked to the end of her contract with the studio and attempted to secure a five-film deal with another company. Novak was supposed to work not only as an actress, but also to produce projects.

Cooperation did not work out from the very first film, as the star was unhappy with the script and clashed with the creators. The Boys Go Out was a box office failure and received mixed reviews from critics. After that, the actress appeared in several more projects, but could not return to the previous high level.

In 1966, Kim Novak decided to end her career as an actress. In her own words, she was exhausted by the Hollywood lifestyle and conflicts on set. The actress left California and began her career as an artist.

Private life

Kim Novak's first marriage was to British actor Richard Johnson in 1965 and lasted thirteen months. Kim has been married to veterinarian Robert Malloy since 1976. The former actress has no children, she is the stepmother to Robert's two children from a previous marriage.

After retirement

In subsequent years, Kim Novak sometimes appeared in feature films, most often solely for the fee, poetry and fine art became her main activity.

In 1992, Novak finally retired from the profession. She practically stopped appearing in public. Sometimes the actress could be seen at famous award ceremonies and prestigious film festivals as a guest.

In recent years, Novak has become more likely to appear at public events. She has received several awards for career achievement in general and has given several interviews, including to renowned radio journalist Larry King.