Miliza Elizabeth Korjus [militsa] (August 18, 1909 â€" August 26,
1980) was a Polish-born ethnic Estonian coloratura soprano opera
singer, who later appeared in Hollywood films. Her birth year has been
reported as uncertain, and ranges from 1900 to 1912, according to
various sources but her daughter, Melissa Wells, is absolutely certain
the year was 1909 and that her mother knew such. She later became a
naturalized United States citizen. She was nominated for the Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1938 for her performance in The
Great Waltz.She was born in Warsaw (then part of the Russian Empire),
the daughter of Anna (née Gintowt) and Artur Korjus, an Estonian
lieutenant colonel in the Imperial Russian Army and later chief of
staff to the war minister of Estonia. Her mother was descended from
the Lithuanian-Polish nobility. Korjus was born during her father's
military posting there, later the family moved to Moscow. She was the
fifth of six children (she had one brother, and four sisters). Her
mother and father separated during the Russian Revolution of 1917 - or
about 1912 - and in 1918, she moved from Moscow to Kiev with her
mother and sisters, where she began her musical training.As a
teenager, Korjus toured the Soviet Union with the Dumka Choir. In
1927, while performing in Leningrad, she managed to cross the border
into Estonia, where she was reunited with her father. She then began
touring the Baltic countries and Germany, and in 1929, married Kuno
Foelsch (1894-1965), a physicist. Korjus continued her concert career
as a soprano in Germany and was eventually engaged by the Berlin State
Opera in 1933. Her operatic appearances and recordings quickly
propelled her to the forefront of European singers and earned her the
nickname "The Berlin Nightingale" and "Gorgeous Korjus". Irving
Thalberg, head of production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, heard her
recordings and signed her to a ten-year film contract, sight unseen.
She arrived with her husband and daughter in the US in March 1936.Her
sole film for MGM was The Great Waltz (1938), which Frank Nugent of
the New York Times called "a showcase for Miliza Korjus" while also
noting her resemblance to Mae West. She was nominated for the Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role. Korjus was scheduled
to star in a film version of the novel Sandor Rozsa in 1940, but an
automobile accident caused her leg to be crushed, and although she
avoided amputation, she required extensive recuperation, causing the
film to be canceled.
1980) was a Polish-born ethnic Estonian coloratura soprano opera
singer, who later appeared in Hollywood films. Her birth year has been
reported as uncertain, and ranges from 1900 to 1912, according to
various sources but her daughter, Melissa Wells, is absolutely certain
the year was 1909 and that her mother knew such. She later became a
naturalized United States citizen. She was nominated for the Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1938 for her performance in The
Great Waltz.She was born in Warsaw (then part of the Russian Empire),
the daughter of Anna (née Gintowt) and Artur Korjus, an Estonian
lieutenant colonel in the Imperial Russian Army and later chief of
staff to the war minister of Estonia. Her mother was descended from
the Lithuanian-Polish nobility. Korjus was born during her father's
military posting there, later the family moved to Moscow. She was the
fifth of six children (she had one brother, and four sisters). Her
mother and father separated during the Russian Revolution of 1917 - or
about 1912 - and in 1918, she moved from Moscow to Kiev with her
mother and sisters, where she began her musical training.As a
teenager, Korjus toured the Soviet Union with the Dumka Choir. In
1927, while performing in Leningrad, she managed to cross the border
into Estonia, where she was reunited with her father. She then began
touring the Baltic countries and Germany, and in 1929, married Kuno
Foelsch (1894-1965), a physicist. Korjus continued her concert career
as a soprano in Germany and was eventually engaged by the Berlin State
Opera in 1933. Her operatic appearances and recordings quickly
propelled her to the forefront of European singers and earned her the
nickname "The Berlin Nightingale" and "Gorgeous Korjus". Irving
Thalberg, head of production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, heard her
recordings and signed her to a ten-year film contract, sight unseen.
She arrived with her husband and daughter in the US in March 1936.Her
sole film for MGM was The Great Waltz (1938), which Frank Nugent of
the New York Times called "a showcase for Miliza Korjus" while also
noting her resemblance to Mae West. She was nominated for the Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role. Korjus was scheduled
to star in a film version of the novel Sandor Rozsa in 1940, but an
automobile accident caused her leg to be crushed, and although she
avoided amputation, she required extensive recuperation, causing the
film to be canceled.
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