This actress is the face of probably the most famous Christmas fairy tale on German television. She won the Czech Lion for Best Actress and the Czech Republic Medal of Merit for her artistic work. Do you already have an idea who it’s about?
Here’s a little hint before the denouement: You see her in a famous fairy tale film every Christmas.
Libuše
Šafránková became famous half a century ago in Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella
You guessed it, in the picture above you can see Libuše Šafránková, the leading actress from Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella, in her first role in front of the camera. It was a Czech television film called Babicka (The Grandmother).
Libuše Šafránková graduated from the dramaturgical department of the Brno Conservatory at the age of 18 and starred in Babicka that same year. Only two years later she succeeded The international breakthrough in Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella in 1973. In the Christmas fairy tale, the protagonist Cinderella comes across three enchanted hazelnuts by a lucky chance. With their help, she manages to free herself from her unhappy situation as a housemaid to her cruel stepmother.
In the following years, the actress became known in other fairy tale films, for example as the main character in The Little Mermaid, where she played alongside her sister Miroslava Safránková.
She also received international attention in the Czech-German production The Day That Changed the World and the Czech drama Kolya.
Kolya won Best Foreign Language Film awarded with the Oscar. In total, the actress appeared in over ninety film and television productions. In addition to her work in front of the camera, she was also seen on stage at the National Theater in Prague.
Libuše Šafránková appeared as an actress until the mid-2010s before retiring for health reasons. Around this time, in 2015, she was presented with the White Lion – the medal of merit for her artistic work. She died on June 9, 2021 in Prague.
In Germany she can be seen on television several times every year in Three Hazelnuts in Cinderella around Christmas time. By the way, you can also stream the classic on Netflix.