Ivanka Mežan

Ivanka Mežan first performed on stage in 1944 at the Slovenian National Theatre on the liberated territory in Črnomelj, at age 17, and then enrolled in the Academy for Acting Arts in Ljubljana (today’s Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television). She was a member of the Slovenian National Theatre Drama Ljubljana from 1945 to 1979. After her retirement, she regularly acted in Drama and other Slovenian theatres. At first, she gained recognition by taking on roles of girls in Slovenian and foreign classic and contemporary drama plays, then started accepting more challenging and mature female roles. As a film actress, she debuted in 1973 in the film Cvetje v jeseni (Blossoms in Autumn) and created many roles in feature films and television films, dramas and series. She often performed in radio plays as well. Her creative endeavours in theatre have won her numerous awards, including: the Sterija Award for acting (1967), the Borštnik Award for best acting (1977), the Prešeren Fund Award (1986), the Borštnik Ring (1995), and the Bert Award for lifetime achievements in the field of film acting (2015). In 2019, she was bestowed the title of honorary citizen of Ljubljana.