She was born “Marilyn,” but she eventually became Kim Novak. After starting out as the face of an appliance brand, she made film history with Vertigo (1958), a masterpiece by Alfred Hitchcock.
Throughout Novak’s career, which spanned four prolific decades, the actress fought to be recognized for the value of her talent as a performer and not only as a beauty queen. Against all odds—humiliating directors, tyrannical studio bosses, angry partners—she managed to build a filmography that made her a legend of Hollywood’s Golden Age—the replacement (and rival) of Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marilyn Monroe.
Novak starred in Picnic (1955), Jeanne Eagels (1957), Pal Joey (1957), Just a Gigolo (1978), and many more. But by the early 90s, her career was in decline and her roles were taking a turn for the worse. Tired of letting male actors shape her image and voice as they saw fit, she quit the business after yet another chaotic shoot for Liebestraum (1991). Far from Hollywood, she has since devoted herself to her two passions: animals and painting.
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For the past 25 years, cinema has continued to celebrate the rebellious career, fierce freedom, and grace of one of the Golden Age’s last great stars. This year, that celebration comes in the form of two awards. The first was at the Venice Film Festival, as part of the presentation of Alexandre O.Philippe’s documentary Kim Novak’s Vertigo, an intimate portrait of her retirement from public life and her extraordinary career.
To mark the occasion, Kim Novak received an honorary Golden Lion in Venice. And this weekend, Novak is expected at the Deauville American Film Festival, thirty-six years after a tribute was last paid to her on this stage. This time, she will receive the Icon Award before a screening of the documentary dedicated to her. The festival is delighted to welcome a “free-spirited pioneer and complete artist” who has become “one of the most fascinating figures in American cinema,” it said in a statement. Let’s take an opportunity to look back, in images, on the life and career of an anti-establishment star.
