Born in Russia during the second year of the communist regime, actress Lila Kedrova has spent most of her life in France. After spending a decade establishing herself in European films and theatrical productions, Kedrova won an Academy Award for her first English-speaking role: fading courtesan Madame Hortense in 1964's Zorba the Greek (she replaced Simone Signoret, who withdrew shortly after shooting started). She would go on to win a Tony nomination when she reprised Hortense for the Broadway musical Zorba, again co-starring with Anthony Quinn. Appearing in fewer and fewer films as the 1970s became the 1980s (sometimes there were four-year gaps between her pictures), Lila Kedrova won the Golden Mask award at the Taorima Film Festival for her portrayal of a terminally ill woman in the American Tell Me a Riddle (1980).