Ilka Grüning (1876 - 1964)

Ilka Grüning’s first film, at age 43, was a German silent movie called Todesurteil in 1919. Next, she starred with Conrad Veidt in Peer Gynt. Later that year, she and Veidt appeared in Die sich verkaufen. She continued making silent movies in Germany into the 1920s. In 1920, she appeared in the film Die Bestie im […]

Ilona Massey (1910 - 1974)

Actress. Ilona Massey was born Ilona Hajmassey in Budapest, Hungary to a poverty-stricken family. Her father was a typesetter who was left an invalid in World War I who inculcated in her a hatred for communism, which she would carry for her entire life. She began work as a dressmaker’s apprentice as a child and […]

Ilse Werner (1921 - 2005)

Actress. Born in Batavia (Jakarta/Indonesia). Daughter of O.E. Still and his wife Lilli. In 1931 she migrated to Frankfurt/Germany. Her first appearance on stage was in “Glück” at the Josephstadt-Theater in Vienna, 1937. Her debut movie role was in  “Die unruhigen Mädchen” (1938). In 1939 she had her first leading role in “Bel Ami.” She […]

Ima Hogg (1882 - 1975)

Ima Hogg (July 10, 1882 – August 19, 1975), known as “The First Lady of Texas”, was an American philanthropist, patron and collector of the arts, and one of the most respected women in Texas during the 20th century. Hogg was an avid art collector, and owned works by Picasso, Klee, and Matisse, among others. […]

Imogen Hassall (1942 - 1980)

Named after Shakespeare’s Cymbeline heroine, she was born in Woking, Surrey, to a family of artists and businessmen. Her grandfather, John Hassall, and her aunt, Joan Hassall, worked as illustrators, while her father, Christopher Hassall, was a poet and lyricist. Her godfather is said to have been the composer Ivor Novello, with whom her father […]

Imogene Bliss (1918 - 2003)

Actress. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she had a long flourishing career on Broadway before entering feature films in the early 1970s. Among her most notable credits are “The King of Marvin Gardens” (1972), “Richard” (1972), “Chapter Two” (1979), “The Mating Story” (1980), “Heaven Help Us” (1985) and “The Christmas Tree” (1996). She also appeared in […]

Imogene Coca (1908 - 2001)

Born Emogeane Coca in Philadelphia, Coca was the daughter of Joseph Fernandez Coca, a violinist and vaudeville orchestra conductor, and Sadie Brady, a dancer and magician’s assistant. Coca’s father was of Spanish descent (the family surname was originally Fernández y Coca), the son of Joseph F. Coca, Sr., and his wife, Laura. Coca took lessons in […]

Imperio Argentina (1910 - 2003)

Actress, Singer. She was born in Argentina, but she developed almost her career in Spain, become one of the most importants Spanish Singer of Copla (Popular spanish songs). She triumphed in Spain and South America. She also triumphed in cinema in the 30’s and 40’s. She is best remembered for her films: “La Hermana San […]

Ina Balin (1937 - 1990)

Born Ina Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, Ina Balin first appeared on television on The Perry Como Show. She also did summer stock, which led to roles on Broadway, and in 1959, she won the Theatre World Award for her performance in the Broadway comedy, A Majority of One, starring Gertrude Berg and […]

Ina Claire (1893 - 1985)

Born Ina Fagan in 1893 in Washington, D.C., Ina Claire began her career appearing in vaudeville. In 1909, she appeared in a vaudeville act entitled “Dainty Mimic,” which include an imitation of actor Harry Lauder. A booking agent described this act as “one of the best single Acts” he had seen that season and remarked […]

Inday Ba (1972 - 2005)

Actress. Born N’Deaye Ba. Swedish actress who started  up with amateur theater at the age of 12. She then worked some years at theatres in Stockholm “behind the curtains” in the early 1990’s. Subsequently she moved to London and got herslef an actor’s education at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. “Watch that man”, “The […]

Inez Milholland (1886 - 1916)

Inez Milholland received her early education at the Comstock School in New York and Kensington High School in London. After finishing school, she decided to attend Vassar but when the college wouldn’t accept her graduation certificate she attended Willard School for Girls in Berlin. During her attendance at Vassar College she was once suspended for organizing […]

Inez Palange (1889 - 1962)

Italian-born actress. Best known for her role as Mrs. Camonte in the 1932 film Scarface. (bio by: Larsson)

Inga Abel (1946 - 2000)

Actress. A figure on television and in the theatre in Germany, she is best known as a member of the cast of Germany’s most popular soap opera “Lindenstrasse”.

Inga Artomonova (1936 - 1966)

Athlete. Born in Moscow, Russia, she was a Soviet speed ice skater and the first four-time All World Champion in women’s speed skating history. She won the All-round World Championships in 1957, 1958 and 1962, and was second in 1963 and 1964 before capturing her fourth World Championships title in 1965. Over the course of […]

Inga Haag (1918 - 2009)

World War II Resistance Figure. Called in later years “the Mata Hari of Marylebone”, she was a secretary in the German Foreign Ministry who participated in the failed plot to kill Hitler on July 20, 1944. Born Ingeborg Helene Abshagen to an upper class Prussian family, she was sent to England for school in her […]

Inga Tidblad (1901 - 1975)

Swedish Actress. From 1932 until 1963 she acted mainly at Vasateatern, Oscarsteatern and Dramaten (Royal Dramatic Theatre) in Stockholm. She made 30 films, and her debut was in ”Andersson, Pettersson och Lundström” (1923). She also was recognized for ”Sången om den eldröda blomman” (1934), ”Intermezzo” (against Ingrid Bergman, 1936) and ”Pärlemor” (1961), among others. In […]

Inge Meysel (1910 - 2004)

German Television and Screen Actress. She was one of the  most beloved television actresses in Germany. She was nicknamed “the mother of the nation”. She leaved Germany during Hitler’s rise to power, because his father was jewish. Among others, she appeared in TV series such as “Die Zeit und die Conways,” “Engel Schau Heinwärts,” “Gertrud […]

Inge Scholl (1917 - 1998)

Inge Aicher-Scholl (11 August 1917 – 4 September 1998), born in present-day Crailsheim, Germany was the daughter of Robert Scholl, mayor of Forchtenberg, and elder sister of Hans and Sophie Scholl, who studied at the University of Munich in 1942, and were core members of the White Rose student resistance movement in Nazi Germany. Inge […]

Inger Stevens (1934 - 1970)

Inger Stevens was born Ingrid Stensland in Stockholm, Sweden. As a child she was often ill. When she was nine, her mother abandoned the family and her father moved to the United States, leaving Inger and her sister in the custody first of the family maid and then an aunt in Lidingo, near Stockholm. In […]

Ingrid Bergman (1915 - 1982)

Actress. She was an international star of films, television and on the stage.   Ingrid Bergman made 50 films in her movie career winning two best Actress Oscars, an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award.  Some of her films: Intermezzo, Casablanca, Walk in the Spring Rain, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, For Whom the Bell […]

Ingrid Pitt (1937 - 2010)

Actress. Born Ingoushka Petrov in Poland to a German father and a Polish-Jewish mother, she endured the horrors of imprisonment in a concentration camp during World War II, while a young child. After surviving the ordeal, she began her acting career in Germany, as a member of the famed “Berliner Ensemble”; she was mentored by […]

Ingrid Thulin (1926 - 2004)

Thulin was born in Sollefteå, Ångermanland, northern Sweden, the daughter of Nanna (née Larsson) and Adam Thulin, a fisherman. She took ballet lessons as a girl and was accepted by The Royal Dramatic Theatre (“Dramaten”) in Stockholm 1948. For many years she worked regularly with Ingmar Bergman; among other films, Thulin appeared in Bergman’s Wild Strawberries […]

Ingrid Washinawatok (1957 - 1999)

Ingrid Washinawatok was the Chair of the NGO Committee on the United Nations International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, a delegate to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, an NGO representative in consultative status to the UN for the International Indian Treaty Council, and a member of the UN Working Group on Indigenous […]

Ingrida Andrina (1944 - 2015)

Latvian Actress. Andrina was a very prominent Latvian stage and film actress. She graduated from the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow in 1967 and began working at the Latvian National Theatre. Andrina also started working in films after graduating.   Some of her most prominent films include “Viimne reliikvia” (1969), “Me, gamomdziebeli” (1971) and […]

Inigo Jones (1573 - 1652)

Architect. Born in Smithfield, London in 1573, little is known of his early life except that he was the son of a Welsh cloth worker, and was christened at the church of St Batholomew the Less. Inigo is often called the first English architect. Best known for his revolutionary buildings in London, most notably the […]

Inigo Jones (1573 - 1652)

Architect. Born in Smithfield, London in 1573, little is known of his early life except that he was the son of a Welsh cloth worker, and was christened at the church of St Batholomew the Less. Inigo is often called the first English architect. Best known for his revolutionary buildings in London, most notably the […]

Ion Luca Caragiale (1852 - 1912)

Founding figure of Romanian literature, playright and short story writer. He began writing during the most important literary movement of his era, the Junimea. The Junimea was a literary society that was founded in 1863. He joined the society in 1878 and he became one of its leading members. Dating back to the 15th century, […]

Ira Coray Abbott (1824 - 1908)

He served during the Civil War first as Lieutenant Colonel, then Colonel and commander of the 1st Michigan Volunteer Infantry regiment. He was wounded in the face at the December 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg, and at the Battle of Gettysburg, his regiment was part of Colonel William S. Tilton’s brigade that fought against attacking Confederates […]

Ira Frederick Aldridge (1807 - 1867)