Lauren Bacall — actress with roots in the Russian Empire
Lauren Bacall was one of Hollywood's greatest stars — famous for her smoky voice, her insouciant wit, and her legendary partnership with Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Key Largo, and Dark Passage. Her debut at age 19, lounging in a doorway looking at Bogart, is one of cinema's most iconic entrances.
Tracing the roots — Romania / Belarus
Born Betty Joan Perske in New York in 1924 to William Perske and Natalie Weinstein-Bacal, both children of Jewish immigrants from Romania and Belarus (Russian Empire), Bacall grew up in the Bronx in the immigrant Jewish world. She changed her name professionally but carried the cultural confidence of that background throughout her extraordinary career.
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Romania / Belarus. At the time, this region lay within the Russian Empire, which spanned from Poland to the Pacific.
A career defined by ambition
"I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that."