![Helena Modjeska](_derived/helena_modjeska.htm_cmp_ts-ostag010_bnr.gif)
![](images/left_cur.gif)
![Haworth's Life](_derived/his_life.htm_cmp_ts-ostag010_vbtn.gif)
![Haworth's Times](_derived/his_times.htm_cmp_ts-ostag010_vbtn.gif)
![Haworth's Versatility](_derived/his_versatility.htm_cmp_ts-ostag010_vbtn.gif)
![Haworth's Press](_derived/his_press.htm_cmp_ts-ostag010_vbtn.gif)
![Haworth's Writings](_derived/joseph_haworth's_writings.htm_cmp_ts-ostag010_vbtn.gif)
![Timeline](_derived/timeline.htm_cmp_ts-ostag010_vbtn.gif)
![Gallery](_derived/gallery.htm_cmp_ts-ostag010_vbtn.gif)
![NY Engagements](_derived/principal_new_york_engagements.htm_cmp_ts-ostag010_vbtn.gif)
![His Brother William](_derived/his_brother_William.htm_cmp_ts-ostag010_vbtn.gif)
|
![Site Map](_derived/site_map.htm_cmp_ts-ostag010_gbtn.gif) |
Helena
Modjeska
(1844-1909)
![](Graphics/Scroll_lines.gif)
|
![](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena%20Modjeska%20as%20young%20woman-Portrait-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg)
![](Graphics/Shelf_2-Resized.jpg)
|
"…her
slender, graceful figure, her pensive
countenance, her sympathetic voice, her
air of soft bewilderment, her exquisite
refinement and grace, and her handsome
dress." William
Winter |
![](Graphics/Simple%20Bar-Resized.gif)
|
"The
dominate characteristic of her acting
was eagerness and joy… a joy
restrained and admired in execution; the
great joy of artistry."
Otis Skinner |
![](Graphics/Pink_Bar-Resized.jpg) |
Modjeska, [Modrzejewska]
Helena [neé Jadwiga Benda; Jawiga Opid] (1840-1909)
Polish actress born on October 12th and raised in Krakow. Her widowed mother, Madame
Benda, was a teacher and musician. Helena grew up in a household of
six talented children. Four became actors, one a musician and one an
architect. She became an actress at an early
age in her native city where her half-brother was a popular
performer. She made her acting debut at an amateur benefit when she
was 20. Helena used the name of the family guardian Michal Opid
until she became a provincial player in a strolling company managed
by Gustave Sinnmayer Modrzejewski who fathered her two children,
Rudolf and Marylka. The relationship last a short four years, but with a slight variation in spelling,
it provided her with her stage name and she made her professional
stage debut in 1861 as Helena Modrzejewska. After the death of her
daughter, Helena left Gustave and returned to Krakow with her 4 year
old son and joined the resident company of the Krakow municipal
theatre. Here her beauty, talent, and dedication to her art soon led
to critical recognition of her genius.
In 1868 married a
Polish aristocrat, Karol Bozenta Chlapowski
(Count Bozenta in
America), under whose
management she became an international star. Their marriage was a
happy one, lasting until Helena's death for than forty years later. When their radical
political views became known she fled with him, her 15 year old son
Rudolf, and several other
political dissidents to America in 1876. After visits to New York
theatres and the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, they ended
up settling in southern
California. Their Polish agricultural colony in the little pioneer
town of Anaheim was a financial failure in the drought and depression
of 1877. A need for quick funds forced Madame Modjeska to learn
English quickly and return to the stage. She made her sensational
American debut, complete with Polish accent, in San Francisco in
August of that year in one of her greatest roles, Scribe’s Adrienne
Lecouvreur. This appearance marked her as an important newcomer and she quickly followed this with performances as Ophelia,
Juliet
and Camille.
For her New York debut later that same year, she returned to Adrienne
Lecouvreur.
For the next thirty years, despite a slight
paralytic stroke in 1897, her career was a series of triumphs, and
she became one of the most respected and beloved of all American
performers. Through most of her career, Modjeska directed her own
company. As his wife's personal manager, Count Bozenta accompanied
her everywhere. She and her acting company traveled for nine months
each year by railroad, steamship, and horse and buggy. Modjeska
appeared in eight performances every week, not only in the great
theatres of Boston and New York but also in the makeshift halls and
so-called opera houses in rural America. Among her 256 dramatic roles, besides those already
mentioned were Magda, Frou-Frou, and Mary
Stuart. She became one of America’s most distinguished
Shakespearean actresses of the 1880s and 1890s and acted twelve of
the bard’s ladies including Rosalind,
Viola,
Lady Macbeth, and Isabella. In 1883 she appeared in Louisville, KY
in America’s first production of Ibsen’s
A Doll’s House. After playing opposite Edwin
Booth (1889-90) she toured the United States with Otis Skinner,
Maurice Barrymore and Joseph
Haworth.
At the height of her career, Modjeska
and her huband established a permanent home in Santiago Canyon,
about 60 miles south of Los Angeles. From 1888 until 1906 the couple
spent vacations and periods of retirement at their rambling white
frame ranch house. Modjeska named the estate Arden,
after the forest in Shakespeare's As You Like It.
Although
she never lost her Polish accent, the tall, comely actress was noted
for her charm and naturalness and admired for her high artistic
ideas and her positive influence on the American theatre of her day.
Throughout her career, Modjeska made periodic return voyages to her
native Poland where she toured and visited with family and friends.
The old city theatre in Krakow is now named in her honor. In the
late 1880s and early 1890s, Modjeska was a much-loved pioneer
resident of Orange County, California. After her death on April 8, 1909 at
the age of 69, the north peak of Saddleback Mountain was named
Modjeska Peak and the portion of Santiago Canyon in which she and
her husband lived is now called Modjeska Canyon. She and Karol
Chlapowski were buried in the Rakowicki Cemetery in Krakow. Her memoirs were
published in 1910. |
![](Graphics/Pink_Bar-Resized.jpg)
|
(click on photo to enlarge) |
![Helena Modjeska as Adrienne Lecouvreur-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (104023 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Adrienne_Lecouvreur-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg)
|
![Helena Modjest reclining (1884) with signature-photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (109568 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjest_reclining_1884_with_signature-photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg)
|
![Helena Modjest in unidentified role-photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (66517 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjest_in_unidentified_role-photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg)
|
as Adrienne Lecouvreur |
Portrait |
as Adrienne Lecouvreur |
![Helena Modjeska as Maria Stuart-photo with caption-B&W-Resized.jpg (72885 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Maria_Stuart-photo_with_caption-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska as Maria Stuart 2-photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (71369 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Maria_Stuart_2-photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska as Maria Stuart-photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (98808 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Maria_Stuart-photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
as Maria
Stuart (1886) |
![Helena Modjeska as Camille (1878)-Photo 2-B&W-Resized.jpg (97311 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Camille_1878-Photo_2-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska as Camille (1878)-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (73281 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Camille_1878-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska in Camille (1878)-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (72185 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_in_Camille_1878-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
as Camille
(1878) |
![Count Bozenta-Modjeska's second husband-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (77854 bytes)](images/Other%20People/Count%20Bozenta/Count_Bozenta-Modjeskas_second_husband-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Modjeska Poster-Resized.jpg (274413 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Modjeska_Poster-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska as Isabella-Photo-B&W_resized.jpg (72812 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Isabella-Photo-BW_resized_small.jpg) |
Count Bozenta |
Poster |
as Isabella |
![Helena Modjeska as Juliet (1882)-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (78364 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Juliet_1882-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska as Ophelia 1871-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (62764 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Ophelia_1871-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![modjeska_engraving-resized.jpg (102616 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/modjeska_engraving-resized_small.jpg) |
as Juliet (1882) |
as Ophelia (1871) |
as Juliet-engraving |
![Helena Modjeska headshot-Photo-tinted-Resized.jpg (118817 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_headshot-Photo-tinted-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska iwith hand extended-studio photo-tinted-Resized.jpg (129172 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_iwith_hand_extended-studio_photo-tinted-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska in large brimmed hat-studio photo-tinted-Resized.jpg (136173 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_in_large_brimmed_hat-studio_photo-tinted-Resized_small.jpg) |
Portrait |
unidentified character |
unidentified character |
![Helena Modjeska as Lady Macbeth-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (93220 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Lady_Macbeth-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska as Sappho-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (86792 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Sappho-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska as Lady Macbeth (1897)-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (89062 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Lady_Macbeth_1897-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
as Lady Macbeth |
as Shappo |
as Lady Macbeth (1897) |
![Helena Modjeska_full length shot-B&W-Resized.jpg (73256 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_full_length_shot-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska reclining in chair with very fancy costume-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (76351 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_reclining_in_chair_with_very_fancy_costume-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska in Twelfth Night-photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (78472 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_in_Twelfth_Night-photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
as Maria Stuart |
unidentified character |
as Viola in Twelfth
Night |
![Modjeska as Rosalind postcard-tinted-Resized.jpg (131729 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Modjeska_as_Rosalind_postcard-tinted-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Modjeska and Joseph Haworth Poster.Resized.jpg (237085 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Modjeska_and_Joseph_Haworth_Poster.Resized_small.jpg) |
![Modjeska as Rosalind-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (80554 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Modjeska_as_Rosalind-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
as Rosalind |
Poster listing Joseph
Haworth as leading man |
as Rosalind |
![Helena Modjeska sitting in chair-photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (84416 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_sitting_in_chair-photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska in Les Chouans (1887)-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (116110 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_in_Les_Chouans_1887-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Modjeska in Chouans program-Resized.jpg (227568 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Modjeska_in_Chouans_program-Resized_small.jpg) |
Portrait |
in Les Chouans (1887) |
Les Couchans
playbill with William Haworth |
![Helena Modjeska as Marie Antoinette (1891)-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (72257 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Marie_Antoinette_1891-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska as Magda-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (93703 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_as_Magda-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska in King John (1889) photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (65974 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_in_King_John_1889_photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
as Marie Antoinette
(1891) |
as Magda |
in King John (1889) |
|
![Arden, Modjeska's California residence-Photo-B&W.jpg (153983 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Arden_Modjeskas_California_residence-Photo-BW_small.jpg) |
|
|
Arden, Modjeska's
California residence |
|
![Helena Modjeska in elaborate hat 1871-Photo-B&W-Resized.jpg (70406 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_in_elaborate_hat_1871-Photo-BW-Resized_small.jpg) |
![modjeska.garden postcard-tinted-Resized.jpg (167082 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/modjeska.garden_postcard-tinted-Resized_small.jpg) |
![Helena Modjeska (older) sitting in chair-studio photo-tinted-Resized.jpg (146974 bytes)](images/Fellow%20Actors/Helena%20Modjeska/Helena_Modjeska_older_sitting_in_chair-studio_photo-tinted-Resized_small.jpg) |
Portrait (1871) |
in 'Arden' the garden at
her California
home |
Portrait in later years |
![](Graphics/Pink_Bar-Resized.jpg)
|
Joseph
Haworth & Helena Modjeska
![](Graphics/Scroll_lines_small.gif) |
From 1895 to 1898, Joseph
Haworth was leading man to the great Polish actress. They toured
across America and back several times, and their New York appearances
reestablished Joe as a major Broadway star. Modjeska also paid Haworth
the unprecedented honor of producing him as Hamlet, supporting him as
Ophelia. Joe said of Madame Modjeska:
"As to several of the great artists with whom I
have appeared, I have already mentioned Edwin Booth, who occupied
first place in my affection and esteem as both artist and man.
Secondly, I would mention Madame Modjeska, whose art was so real as to
conceal itself under the garb of absolute naturalness. It was my good
fortune to be associated with her in a round of legitimate roles:
Macbeth, Hamlet, Benedick,
Orlando, and
Armand Duval, in Camille, in the title-role of which play
Modjeska was, to my mind, the greatest English-speaking exponent. Her
performances of Mary Stuart and Magda may have been considered equally
good by her admirers, but I still hold to my own opinion regarding her
Camille. As to her Shakespearian achievements, her Lady Macbeth has no
parallel, either at home or abroad. It was as full of subtle
excellencies as a woman." |
|
![](Graphics/Comedy__Tragedy_Masks.jpg)
|
Top of page |
|
|
|
![right_cur.gif (3918 bytes)](images/right_cur.gif) |