Živana "Žanka" Stokić (Serbian Cyrillic: Живана Жанка
Стокић; 24 January 1887 â€" 21 July 1947) was a Serbian
actress.Though most popular for her work in comedy, she also excelled
in dramatic roles. Often referred to as the "Serbian Sarah Bernhardt"
and "Great Žanka", she is considered by critics and many of her peers
as the greatest Serbian actress of all time.Born Živana Stokić in
Veliko Gradište in eastern Serbia on 24 January 1887, her baker
turned police clerk father Bogosav died when Živana was still an
infant. Her mother Julka then remarried â€" to a widowed priest
Aleksandar "Sanda" Nikolajević â€" and moved to the village of
Rabrovo (modern municipality of KuÄ evo). As a result, Rabrovo had
been reported as Žanka Stokić's birthplace for decades until
recently discovered data showed otherwise. The youngster didn’t get
along with her stepfather, deciding at the age of 14 to run away from
home to ZajeÄ ar where she married a local tailor. The marital union
was not a happy one, and within a year in 1902, teenage Žanka ran
away from her husband, too â€" this time by joining a travelling
acting troupe.Stokić's first acting mentor was Ljubomir "Čvrga"
RajiÄ ić, head of the company of travelling actors she ran away from
her husband with. Originally, she did errands as a washerwoman for the
troupe. In her first role, Tereza in BraÄ ne noći in 1902, she became
a local sensation. Čvrga's troupe soon split, and Žanka joined
several former colleagues on a tour of Vojvodina, Bosnia, and Croatia
â€" border areas of the neighbouring Austria-Hungary where Serbian is
spoken.
Стокић; 24 January 1887 â€" 21 July 1947) was a Serbian
actress.Though most popular for her work in comedy, she also excelled
in dramatic roles. Often referred to as the "Serbian Sarah Bernhardt"
and "Great Žanka", she is considered by critics and many of her peers
as the greatest Serbian actress of all time.Born Živana Stokić in
Veliko Gradište in eastern Serbia on 24 January 1887, her baker
turned police clerk father Bogosav died when Živana was still an
infant. Her mother Julka then remarried â€" to a widowed priest
Aleksandar "Sanda" Nikolajević â€" and moved to the village of
Rabrovo (modern municipality of KuÄ evo). As a result, Rabrovo had
been reported as Žanka Stokić's birthplace for decades until
recently discovered data showed otherwise. The youngster didn’t get
along with her stepfather, deciding at the age of 14 to run away from
home to ZajeÄ ar where she married a local tailor. The marital union
was not a happy one, and within a year in 1902, teenage Žanka ran
away from her husband, too â€" this time by joining a travelling
acting troupe.Stokić's first acting mentor was Ljubomir "Čvrga"
RajiÄ ić, head of the company of travelling actors she ran away from
her husband with. Originally, she did errands as a washerwoman for the
troupe. In her first role, Tereza in BraÄ ne noći in 1902, she became
a local sensation. Čvrga's troupe soon split, and Žanka joined
several former colleagues on a tour of Vojvodina, Bosnia, and Croatia
â€" border areas of the neighbouring Austria-Hungary where Serbian is
spoken.
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