Kim Novak is an American actress and artist. The most known today to the general public due to the main role in the film Alfred Hitchcock "Dizziness", as well as work in the films "Picnic", "Man with a Golden Hand" and "Buddy Joey". After she stopped her career as an actress in 1966, she appeared in only a few projects.
Childhood and youth
Kim Novak (real name Marilyn Novak) was born February 13, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois. Both parents have Czech roots. After graduating from high school, she entered Wright Jr. College.
While studying, she won a scholarship from the Chicago Institute, studied at the School of Arts at the institution. In her youth, Kim Novak worked during the summer holidays. I traveled around the country as part of an advertising campaign from a manufacturer of refrigerators.
Carier start
While working as a model, along with other girls participating in the advertising campaign of refrigerators, appeared in the crowd in two Hollywood paintings. It was there that she was spotted by a talent search agent who believed in Kim Novak and helped her sign a long-term contract with the Hollywood studio Columbia.
Leaders were looking for a new star that could replace Rita Hayworth, the most famous actress of the forties in Hollywood. Novak was chosen by the producers largely due to the fact that another blonde, Marilyn Monroe, successfully worked on projects from the rival Twentieth Century Fox studio.
The first main role for the aspiring actress Kim Novak was the crime drama "Easy Production" of 1954 release. In the same year, she appeared in the romantic comedy "Phi" with Jack Lemmon.
Both films have successfully shown themselves at the box office, and Kim has earned positive reviews from critics for her work.
The following year, the actress starred in the dark crime drama Five Against the Casino. This picture is not very effective at the box office, receiving mixed reviews from critics.
Big breakthrough
The real turning point was the film "Picnic" in Kim Novak's career. The melodrama became a real hit of hire. She received six nominations for the prestigious Academy Award, including Best Film, and Novak herself won the Golden Globe figurine as the best rising star among actresses. In 1955, she appeared in the crime drama Man with a Golden Hand, where the legendary Frank Sinatra became her on-screen partner. This film showed itself perfectly at the box office, and Kim received positive reviews about her work in the project from professional critics.
The next project in Kim Novak’s career was the biographical drama "The Story of Eddie Dachin", where she played the wife of the protagonist. During the filming, the actress could not find a common language with Tyrone Paver, who plays the main role, and almost left the project. Nevertheless, despite the difficulties during the filming, the film became a hit movie.
The actress also appeared in the title role in the movie "Genie Eagles", a movie about a little movie star and her addiction to heroin. The film was successful among critics and viewers, but the Eagles family sued the studio because of a plot mismatch with facts from the life of a real Djinn.
After a series of successful projects, Kim Novak became one of the main Hollywood stars of the time. Her next film is the musical "Buddy Joey," where she again worked with Frank Sinatra. The picture collected a lot of money at the box office, but some critics did not appreciate the work of Novak.
Of course, the main film in the biography of Kim Novak is the thriller of the great director Alfred Hitchcock "Dizziness". Initially, the main role in it was to be played by actress Vera Miles, who dropped out of the project due to pregnancy. Hitchcock proposed the role of Novak, who, after reading the script, agreed.
However, the cooperation of the actress and the director was by no means easy. At that time, Novak demanded that the studio increase salaries and she was almost suspended from working on the picture. She tried to make changes to the script, to refine the character's character, which the authoritative director did not like at all. In the end, he still allowed Kim to make some changes in the image.
After the premiere, the film “Vertigo” received negative reviews from critics and failed at the box office, which led to the cessation of many years of collaboration between Hitchcock and starring James Stuart. However, over time, the film gained cult status and today is considered one of the greatest in the history of cinema.
Career sunset and leaving the profession
In subsequent years, Kim Novak continued to work actively, however, projects with her participation were no longer as successful as before. She finalized until the end of the contract with the studio and tried to conclude a contract with another company for five films. Novak had to work not only as an actress, but also produce projects.
Collaboration has not gone right from the very first film, as the star was unhappy with the script and clashed with the creators. The painting "Boys Go for a Walk" failed at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics. After this, the actress appeared in several more projects, but could not return to her previous high level.
In 1966, Kim Novak decided to end her career as an actress. In her own words, she was exhausted due to the Hollywood lifestyle and conflicts on the set. The actress left California and began her career as an artist.
Personal life
Kim Novak's first marriage was with British actor Richard Johnson, he was married in 1965 and lasted thirteen months. Since 1976, Kim has been married to veterinarian Robert Malloy. The former actress has no children, she is the stepmother for Robert's two children from a previous marriage.
After the resignation
In subsequent years, Kim Novak sometimes appeared in feature films, most often solely for the sake of royalties, poetry and fine art became her main activity.
In 1992, Novak finally left the profession. She almost stopped appearing in public. Sometimes the actress could be seen at the award ceremonies of famous awards and prestigious film festivals as a guest.
In recent years, Novak began to appear more often at public events. She received several awards for career achievements in general and gave several interviews, in particular to the famous radio journalist Larry King.