Sylvia sidney biography

1. Biography of Sylvia Sidney
2. Early Life
3. Acting Career
4. Later Career

Biography of Sylvia Sidney

Sylvia Sidney was an American actress who began her career in an effort to overcome her shyness. She made her debut as an actress at the age of 15 and later became a student at the School for Acting, affiliated with the Theater Guild. Sidney quickly gained recognition from local critics for her talent.

Early Life

Sylvia Sidney, originally named Sophia Kosow, was born in the Bronx, New York. Her mother, Rebecca Saperstein, was a Romanian Jew, and her father, Victor Kosow, was a Russian Jew who sold clothes after immigrating from present-day Belarus. When she was five years old, her parents divorced and she was adopted by her stepfather, Sigmund Sidney, a dentist. Her mother changed her name to Beatrice Sidney, and Sylvia also took on her stepfather's last name.

Acting Career

Sidney's acting career began in her teens as a way to overcome her shyness. She enrolled in the School for Acting at the Theater Guild and received praise from local critics for her talent. In , she caught the attention of a Hollywood talent agent and made her film debut the same year.

During the Great Depression, Sidney appeared in several films, often playing the roles of gangsters' girlfriends and sisters. She shared the screen with notable stars of the time, including Spencer Tracy, Henry Fonda, Joel McCrea, Fredric March, George Raft, and Cary Grant. Some of her notable films include "An American Tragedy" and "City Streets and Street Scene" in , Alfred Hitchcock's "Sabotage" and Fritz Lang's "Fury" in , and "You Only Live Once" and "Dead End" in

In the s, Sidney began receiving more prominent roles, including a role alongside James Cagney in "Blood on the Sun." However, her success waned in the following years.

Later Career

In , Sidney was cast as Fantine in the film adaptation of "Les Misérables," which garnered her positive reviews. This marked a turning point in her career, and she began exploring character roles. In , she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams."

Even in her later years, Sidney continued to play supporting roles, often standing out with her distinctive husky voice, a result of her long-standing smoking habit. She received a Golden Globe for her role as Miss Coral in the film "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" and went on to portray Aidan Quinn's grandmother in the television production of "An Early Frost."

Sidney's final film roles were in two Tim Burton films, "Damien: Omen II" and "Mars Attacks!" She passed away from throat cancer a month before her 89th birthday.