Valentina Zimina

Valentina Zimina
Zimina in 1926
Born(1899-01-01)January 1, 1899
Moscow, Russian Empire
DiedDecember 3, 1928(1928-12-03) (aged 29)
Hollywood, Los Angeles California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1925–1928
Spouse
Elwood E. Hopkins
​
(m. 1926)​
[1]

Valentina Zimina (1 January 1899 – 3 December 1928) was a Russian born silent film actress and opera singer.[2]

Biography

Zimina was Russian-born, the daughter of a Moscow stage actress. Prior to World War One, she had been a star of the comic opera in Petrograd, singing operatic soprano.[3] When her fiance was wounded while serving in the Russian Ambulance Corp, she visited him at the front to assist nursing him. It was there that she would join the Red Cross.[4] After the collapse of the Russian Army during World War One, Zimina served as a lieutenant in newly formed Women's Battalion of Death for three years.[5] She was later arrested and spent time in a Siberian prison, from which she escaped and made her way across Asia and into Hollywood.[6] She first gained attention in 1921, when she performed in Madame Butterfly at the California Theatre in Los Angeles. There she performed in 9 languages, among them were Russian, Ukrainian, French, and German.[7] She also played in vaudeville in Long Beach, and was a standout with a hit.[8] The rest of her family were killed in the Russian Civil War. She made her credited screen debut opposite Bessie Love and Warner Baxter in Victor Fleming's A Son of His Father, followed by five more 1920s romantic melodramas.[9] Zimina died of influenza just before her last film was released.[10]

Lobby card for the American drama film Gerald Cranston's Lady (1924).

Filmography

References

  1. ↑ "Obituary - Valentina Zimina". Variety. 1928-12-05. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  2. ↑ Slide, Anthony (2012). Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players, and Stand-Ins. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-62846-906-6.
  3. ↑ Ussher, Bruno David (December 17, 1921). "The Week's Music Events in Los Angeles". Pacific Coast Musical Review. Vol. XLI, no. 12. p. 8.
  4. ↑ Gebhart, Mrytle (1926). "A Joan of Arc from Russia". Picture-Play Magazine. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "Ex-Member of Battalion of Death Gets Role". Exhibitors Daily Review. September 2, 1926. p. 7.
  6. ↑ Gebhart, Mrytle (1926). "A Joan of Arc from Russia". Picture-Play Magazine. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "The Billboard". Vol. 33, no. 28. 1921-07-09. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "Early Hollywood Days". Holly Leaves: 43. December 29, 1922.
  9. ↑ Gevinson, Alan (1997). Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 949. ISBN 978-0-520-20964-0.
  10. ↑ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-7864-0983-9.
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