Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow, August , â€" July , ) was an
American stage, screen, and film actress whose career spanned over
years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the s. She
was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for
her performance in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams in . She later gained
attention for her role as Juno, a case worker in the afterlife, in Tim
Burton's film Beetlejuice, for which she won a Saturn Award as Best
Supporting Actress.Sidney was born Sophia Kosow in the Bronx, New
York, the daughter of Rebecca (née Saperstein), a Romanian Jew, and
Victor Kosow, a Russian Jewish immigrant who worked as a clothing
salesman. Her parents divorced by , and she was adopted by her
stepfather Sigmund Sidney, a dentist. Her mother became a dressmaker
and renamed herself Beatrice Sidney. Now using the surname Sidney,
Sylvia became an actress at the age of as a way of overcoming
shyness. As a student of the Theater Guild's School for Acting, she
was praised by theater critics for her performances. In , she was seen
by a Hollywood talent scout and made her first film appearance later
that year.[citation needed]During the Depression, Sidney appeared in a
string of films, often playing the girlfriend or sister of a gangster.
She appeared with Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Henry Fonda, Joel
McCrea, Fredric March, George Raft, and Cary Grant. Among her films
from this period were: An American Tragedy, City Streets, and Street
Scene (all ), Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage and Fritz Lang's Fury (both
), You Only Live Once and Dead End (both ), and The Trail of the
Lonesome Pine, an early three-strip Technicolor film. During this
period, she developed a reputation for being difficult to work with.
At the time of making Sabotage with Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney was one
of the highest-paid actresses in the industry, earning $, per
weekâ€"earning a total of $, for Sabotage.Her career diminished
somewhat during the s. In , exhibitors voted her "box-office poison".
In , she played the role of Fantine in Les Misérables, and her
performance was praised and allowed her opportunities to develop as a
character actress.[citation needed]
American stage, screen, and film actress whose career spanned over
years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the s. She
was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for
her performance in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams in . She later gained
attention for her role as Juno, a case worker in the afterlife, in Tim
Burton's film Beetlejuice, for which she won a Saturn Award as Best
Supporting Actress.Sidney was born Sophia Kosow in the Bronx, New
York, the daughter of Rebecca (née Saperstein), a Romanian Jew, and
Victor Kosow, a Russian Jewish immigrant who worked as a clothing
salesman. Her parents divorced by , and she was adopted by her
stepfather Sigmund Sidney, a dentist. Her mother became a dressmaker
and renamed herself Beatrice Sidney. Now using the surname Sidney,
Sylvia became an actress at the age of as a way of overcoming
shyness. As a student of the Theater Guild's School for Acting, she
was praised by theater critics for her performances. In , she was seen
by a Hollywood talent scout and made her first film appearance later
that year.[citation needed]During the Depression, Sidney appeared in a
string of films, often playing the girlfriend or sister of a gangster.
She appeared with Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Henry Fonda, Joel
McCrea, Fredric March, George Raft, and Cary Grant. Among her films
from this period were: An American Tragedy, City Streets, and Street
Scene (all ), Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage and Fritz Lang's Fury (both
), You Only Live Once and Dead End (both ), and The Trail of the
Lonesome Pine, an early three-strip Technicolor film. During this
period, she developed a reputation for being difficult to work with.
At the time of making Sabotage with Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney was one
of the highest-paid actresses in the industry, earning $, per
weekâ€"earning a total of $, for Sabotage.Her career diminished
somewhat during the s. In , exhibitors voted her "box-office poison".
In , she played the role of Fantine in Les Misérables, and her
performance was praised and allowed her opportunities to develop as a
character actress.[citation needed]
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