Božidara Turzonovová is a daughter of a female medician from Serbia and a reputable architect with origins in Macedonia (near Thessaloniki). As the oldest of three descendants, she was born in the Kingdom of Bulgaria. After thirteen months spent in Sofia, her mother followed the spouse to Bratislava, where he worked since 1939. From 1943, Turzonovová was therefore raised in Slovakia.[13] According to the actress, she was often called "that Bulgarian" at that time that led her to a state of feeling rather humbled (as she recollected for the Czech Television in 2011). Although she originally planned to study art history at the Palacký University of Olomouc in western part of then-Czechoslovakia, for which she would also apply, Turzonovová continued with drama eventually at the Slovak Academy of Performing Arts. While one of her classmates was Emília Vášáryová, her teacher became Ján Borodáč who taught the Stanislavski's method. However, as the artist later disclosed, she found difficult to couple with partners on the scene, and wanted to abandon the college.[14] In 2012 for SME she said: "For me 'partnering stuff' has always been a problem in acting, especially when I was yet a student."[15]
1961-69: Career beginnings and the National Theater
"I don't want to mentor here but even word has a sound content energy, that's all about energies. And when a performance turns out well, if there's my energy, an energy of fellows, an energy of the director who put his effort into it, then there's one great synergy which circulates, and after it circulates backwards. And that's the atmosphere in theater, that's what makes audiences laugh, moves them to tears or completely hushes them up, so they will hold their breath. And those are the moments that I love, and which I will never accomplish on any TV, in any series and in any film – only on stage."[16]
—Actress on her relation with live audience (Mestské divadlo Žilina; March 16, 2013). Photo: Eduard Kudláč
The actress made her official debut on the screen in black-and-white movie entitled Most na tú stranu (English: A Bridge to the Other Side) by Vladislav Pavlovič, to be premiered in January the following year. The psychological drama starred Jozef Adamovič;[17] a three years older actor whom Turzonovová would marry. Her initial appearance for television came along with Ján Klimo's Mladé letá (English: Young Ages, 1962), another drama based on an autobiographical novel by Martin Kukučín.[18] While on college, she was cast in two plays at a chamber theatre of the Slovak National Theater, called Malá scéna (English: Small Stage). Following her graduating in September 1963, the actress signed a contract with the professional ensemble while being pregnant. As a result, she was accused of cheating as revealed.[14] After return from parental leave, Turzonovová was cast in the follow-up project by Pavlovič Senzi Mama (English: Smashing Mom, 1964),[19] while for TV productions taking part in comedies (Charlieho teta,[20]Dobrodružstvo pri obžinkoch,[21]Rozmajrín).[22] In 1969, she would join the crew of Volpone, the only directorial attempt of František Dibarbora.[23]
1970-79: The Meritorious Artist title and The Divine Emma
This section needs expansion with: 1970s to present years. You can help by adding to it. (September 2011)
The filmography of Turzonovová chronicles her work through the artist's 50 years as a film, television and stage actress. She entered film industry in 1961, and made her official cinematic debut in Vladislav Pavlovič's production of Most na tú stranu. Overall, she appeared in one-hundred-sixty-five films to date, of which thirty-four are feature, and one-hundred-thirty-one television films or series. While on stage, Turzonovová was cast in one-hundred plays or musicals, eight of which have been also televised.[24]
A^ The original show ran until 1989. (Simultaneously, a similar pool called Television Bells ran in the Czechoslovakia since 1985. In 1990, the Golden Croc was replaced by I Like; for the only year, eventually. Starting 1991 TýTý Awards is effective in the Czech Republic, while OTO Awards was founded in Slovakia in 2000).
B^ The winners of the 77' edition were awarded in 1979.[25]
Božidara Turzonovová has received a number of awards and accolades in recognition of her success in the film industry. As of March 2017, she has accumulated a total of 24 awards out of 28 nominations.
^ abFor complete filmography of Turzonovová, use either her csfd.cz-link or sfd.sfu.sk, both listed among her general links, and/or follow the relevant article.