Joanna Pacuła

Joanna Pacuła (Polish: [jɔˈanːa paˈt͡suwa]; born 2 January 1957)[1] is a Polish actress and model. Born in Tomaszów Lubelski and emigrating to the United States in the early 1980s, she first gained prominence through her modeling work for Vogue. Her breakthrough performance in the 1983 film Gorky Park earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. In the years since, she established herself as a character actress, appearing in numerous high-profile films and television series.

Joanna Pacuła
Born (1957-01-02) 2 January 1957[1]
Tomaszów Lubelski, Poland
Alma materAleksander Zelwerowicz State Theatre Academy
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
Years active1977–2020
Known forGorky Park
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)

Life and career

Pacuła was born in Tomaszów Lubelski, Poland, to a pharmacist mother and an engineer father.[2] She has a sister, Ewa Pacuła, a model and TV personality who has also worked in the United States.

In 1979, Pacuła graduated from the Aleksander Zelwerowicz State Theatre Academy. After graduation, she joined the Warsaw Dramatic Theatre, where she acted until 1981. She began her career playing in productions of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and As You Like It. She also found work in a few films, including Krzysztof Zanussi's Camouflage (Barwy ochronne, 1977) and Sergiu Nicolaescu's Last Night of Love (Ultima noapte de dragoste, 1980) in Romania.[3]

In 1981, Pacuła was in Paris when the communist authorities in Poland declared martial law.[1] She did not return to her homeland, and in 1982 emigrated to the United States, where she specialized in playing European temptresses. Her feature debut came in appearing opposite William Hurt in Gorky Park (1983). She was praised by Roman Polanski for that role.[1][2] She played in numerous American TV series and movies, including The Holocaust drama Escape From Sobibor (CBS, 1987),[4] The Kiss (1988),[5] E.A.R.T.H. Force (CBS, 1990), and the TV series, The Colony (ABC, 1996). She also starred in Lewis Gilbert's Not Quite Paradise released in 1985.[1]

She was featured in Marked for Death (1990) as an expert on Jamaican voodoo and gangs;[6] in the Italian erotic thriller Husband and Lovers (1992) as a free-spirited adultress; Tombstone (1993) as Doc Holliday's lover, Kate (also known as Big Nose Kate and Mary Catherine Horoney, born 7 November 1850); in The Haunted Sea (1997); and in the film Virus (1999), playing a Russian scientist.[7] She currently resides in Southern California.

Milestones
  • Pacula was chosen by People as one of its 50 Most Beautiful People in the world (1990).
  • She was listed as one of 12 "Promising New Actors of 1984" in John Willis' Screen World, volume 36.

Filmography

Film

Television

  • Deep Red (1994, television film) - Monica Quik
  • Business for Pleasure (1997, television film) - Anna
  • Sweet Deception (1998, television film) - Risa Gallagher
  • Dead Man's Gun (1999, 1 episode) - Yvotte Ballinger
  • Brutally Normal (2000, 7 episodes) - Gogi
  • Night Visions (2001, 1 episode) - Head Immigrant
  • Robbery Homicide Division (2002, 1 episode) - Trisha Sandifer
  • Lightning Bolts of Destruction (2003, television film) - Dr. Valery Landis
  • Dinocroc (2004, television film)
  • Jake in Progress (2005, 1 episode) - Elsa Winters
  • Monk (2008, 1 episode) - Leyla Zlatavich
  • Stolen Child (2012, television film) - Tatiana
  • Bones (2014, 1 episode) - Drina Mirga

Awards and nominations
Awards
Year Award Category Production Result
1983 Golden Globe Awards Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Gorky Park Nominated

References
  1. Shefy Gefen, Pearl (1984) "This Polish Actress turns Holiday into a Movie Career in the West", Montreal Gazette, 4 December 1984, p. E1
  2. "Joanna Pacuła zrobiła zbyt małą karierę, by zasłużyć na honorowe obywatelstwo Tomaszowa Lubelskiego?", pomorska.pl, 11 October 2010, retrieved 2011-07-30
  3. "Ultima noapte de dragoste (1979)". IMDb. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  4. Rosenberg, Howard (1987) "In the Spotlight", Los Angeles Times, 12 April 1987, p. 3 (TV section)
  5. Wuntch, Philip (1988) "Horror Role is a First for Polish Acretss Pacula", Dallas Morning News, 14 October 1988
  6. Harris, Mark (1990) "Marked For Death starring Steven Seagal And Joanna Pacula Archived 20 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine", straight.com, 18 October 1990, retrieved 2011-07-30
  7. "'Virus' is piece of garbage – even its big names stink", Deseret News, 17 January 1999
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