Emilija Popović

Contributions to culture and science:

Emilija Popović was one of the best dramatic artists from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. She performed in traveling theaters and at the National Theater in Belgrade.

Short biography:

Emilija Popović was born in 1859 in Zrenjanin, then Veliki Bečkerek. She was the descendant of the famous priest Luka Popović. She grew up without a father, alone, with her mother, and spent her childhood in dire poverty. She got on the stage for the first time as a girl, in 1869, in the Serbian National Theater in Novi Sad, when she also joined her uncle’s traveling troupe. She got a permanent engagement in the National Theater in Belgrade in 1878. Emilija Popović was one of the first Serbian actresses who tried her hand at film. She played the lead role in the feature film Poor Mother. According to theatrical annals, Emilija Popović died during the occupation in 1917, and her gravesite was forgotten.

Interesting facts (Storytelling):

There were other famous theater names from her family, so this “artistic dynasty” once made up almost half of the troupe of the Serbian National Theater in Novi Sad.
She played the leading role in the film Poor Mother, the third feature film made in Serbia, which unfortunately has not been preserved.