Maia Morgenstern

Maia Morgenstern
Maia Morgenstern
	Maia Morgenstern in November 2018
Born	Maia Emilia Ninel Morgenstern; 1 May 1962; Bucharest, Romania
Nationality	Romanian
Alma mater	I. L. Caragiale Institute of Theatre and Film
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1980–present
Known for	The Blessed Virgin Mary in The Passion of the Christ
Television	Aniela (2009); Iubire și onoare (2010–11); Las Fierbinți (2012–14)
Spouse(s)	Claudiu Istodor (m. 1983⁠–⁠1999); Dumitru Băltățeanu (m. 2001⁠–⁠2015)
Partner(s)	Andras Istvan Demeter
Children	Tudor Aaron (b. 1984); Eva Leea Cabiria (b. 1999); Ana Isadora Băltățeanu (b. 2003)
Parent(s)	Usher Morgenstern (father); Sara Rappaport (mother)

Maia Emilia Ninel Morgenstern (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈmaja ˈmorɡənʃtern] (listen); born 1 May 1962) is a Romanian film and stage actress,[1] described by Florin Mitu of AMOS News as "a symbol of Romanian theater and film".[2] In the English-speaking world, she is probably best known for the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. In Romania, she has been nationally known since her 1992 role as Nela in Balanța, a film known in the United States as The Oak, set during the waning days of Communist Romania.[1] She received a star on the Romanian Walk of Fame in Bucharest on 1 May 2011.[3]

Maia Morgenstern in concert, singing Jewish songs. Timișoara, Romania, May 25, 2010.

Biography

Born in Bucharest, in a Jewish family,[1] she graduated from the Film and Theatre Academy of Bucharest in 1985. She then played at Teatrul Tineretului (Youth Theater) in Piatra Neamț until 1988, and at the Teatrul Evreiesc de Stat (State Jewish Theatre) in Bucharest 1988, 1989, and 1990. From 1990 to 1998 she was a member of the company of the National Theatre in Bucharest, and since 1998 of Teatrul Bulandra, also in Bucharest;[4] in addition, she continues to act at the Jewish State Theatre and other Bucharest theaters[1] and elsewhere in Romania.[4] Among her notable stage roles in recent years, in a Romanian-language production of The Blue Angel (Îngerul Albastru in Romanian) at Bucharest's Odeon Theater, in 2001-2 she played (to great critical acclaim) Lola Lola, the character made famous by Marlene Dietrich. At the same time, she was also playing the role of Kathleen Hogan in a Romanian-language production of Israel Horovitz's Park Your Car in Harvard Yard at the State Jewish Theater.[1]

Morgenstern has appeared in numerous films, primarily in Romanian language roles. In The Passion of the Christ, she performs a role in Aramaic, but like the other actors in the cast of that film, she simply memorized her lines phonetically.[5]

Her surname, Morgenstern, means "Morning Star" in German, a title of the Virgin Mary, the character she played in The Passion of the Christ. Mel Gibson, a devout Traditionalist Catholic, thought this of great significance when casting her.[6] In interviews, she has defended The Passion of the Christ against allegations of antisemitism,[7] saying that the high priest Caiaphas is portrayed not as a representative of the Jewish people, but as a leader of the establishment, adding that "Authorities throughout history have persecuted individuals with revolutionary ideas."[8]

Personal life

She has been married twice, and has 3 children: Tudor Aaron, an actor, Eva Leea Cabiria and Ana Isadora.[9]

Awards, recognition

She has won several major awards as an actress:

Best Actress for: Cei care platesc cu viața ("Those who pay with their lives", 1991), Romanian Filmmakers Union
UNITER (Romanian theater association) Lucia Sturdza Bulandra Prize (1990) for her stage role as Medea in Trilogia antică (Ancient Trilogy), directed by Andrei Șerban.[9]
Best Actress for: Balanța (1992), European Film Awards[10]
Best Actress for: Balanța (1992), Cinéma Tout Ecran (Geneva Film Festival)[10]
Best Actress for: Balanța (1992), Romanian Filmmakers Union[10]
UNITER best actress award (1993), for her role in Ghetto at the Romanian National Theatre.[9]
UNITER (1995) award for her performance in the stage production of Lola Blau.[9]
Best Film Actress for: The Passion of the Christ (2004), Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards (EMMA Awards), UK[11]

Filmography

Where translations of titles are italicized, it indicates use of the translated title for the film in English-language release.

Film	Year	Role	Language
The Resurrection of the Christ	2022	Mary	Aramaic
What About Love	2020	Sister Martina	English, Spanish
Sacrificiul	2019-2020	Eva Oprea/ Eva Ioanid	Romanian
Capra cu trei iezi	2019	Capra	Romanian
Fructul oprit (TV series)	2019	Mgda Popa	Romanian
High Strung	2016	Madame Markova	English
#Selfie69	2016	Femeie Bila	Romanian
Miss Christina	2013	Mrs. Moscu	Romanian
The Secret of Polichinelle	2013	Maya	Romanian
Fata din Transilvania	2011		Romanian
La fin du silence	2011	the mother	French
Sange Tanar, Munti Si Brazi	2011	Mama	Romanian drama
Luna verde	2010	Simona	Romanian
Iubire si onoare (TV series)	2010–2011	Marieta	Romanian
Aniela (tv series)	2009–2010	Maica Stareţa	Romanian
The House of Terror	2008	Eszter Somos	English
Eva	2009	Maria	English
The Fence	2007	Herman's mother	English
Mansfeld	2006	Mrs. Mansfeld	Hungarian / English / Russian / German
Margo	2006	Margo's stepmother	Romanian
Visuri otrăvite ("Poisoned Dreams")	2006	Ada's mother	Romanian
15	2005	Irene	Romanian / French
L'Homme pressé	2005, TV	Bonne de Bois de Rose	French
Orient Express	2004	Amalia Frunzetti	Romanian
Damen tango	2004		Romanian
The Passion of the Christ	2004	Mary	Aramaic
Căsătorie imposibilă ("Impossible marriage")	2004, TV series		Romanian
Bolondok éneke (Fool's Song)	2003	Gina	Hungarian / French / Romanian
A Rózsa énekei (Rose's Songs)	2003	Olga	Hungarian
Patul lui Procust (Procust's Bed) Based on Camil Petrescu's novel Patul lui Procust	2001	Doamna T.	Romanian
Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula	2000, TV	woman at the fountain	English
Marie, Nonna, la vierge et moi	2000	Nonna	French
Kínai védelem (Chinese Defense)	1999		Hungarian
Față în față (Face to Face)	1999		Romanian
Triunghiul morții ("Triangle of Death")	1999	Regina Maria	Romanian
Az Álombánya	1998, TV, short		Hungarian
Witman fiúk (Witman Boys)	1997	Mrs. Witman	Hungarian
Omul zilei (The Man of the Day)	1997		Romanian
Ulysses' Gaze (original Greek title: Το Βλέμμα του Οδυσσέα, To Vlemma tou Odyssea)	1995	playing opposite Harvey Keitel as Ulysses' wife	English / Greek
The Seventh Chamber	1995	Edith Stein (the starring role)	Hungarian
Nostradamus	1994	Helen	English
Trahir (Betrayal, Romanian title: A trada)	1993	woman in prison	French / Romanian
Casa din vis ("The House from the Dream")	1993		Romanian
Cel mai iubit dintre pămînteni (The Earth's Most Beloved Son) based on Marin Preda's novel Cel mai iubit dintre pământeni	1993		Romanian
Balanța (The Oak)	1992	Nela (the starring role)	Romanian
Rămînerea (Forgotten by God)	1992		Romanian
Băiatul cu o singură bretea, also known as Flăcăul cu o singura bretea ("The Boy with a Single Brace")	1991		Romanian
Cei care plătesc cu viața (Those Who Pay with Their Lives)	1991		Romanian
Pasaj	1990		Romanian
Marea sfidare ("The great defiance")	1989		Romanian
Maria și marea ("Maria and the Sea")	1988	Maria	Romanian
Anotimpul iubirii (The Season of Love)	1986		Romanian
Secretul lui Bachus (The Secret of Bacchus)	1984	the girl in the restaurant (as Maia Morgenstern Istodor)	Romanian
Dreptate în lanțuri (Chained Justice)	1983		Romanian
Prea cald pentru luna mai ("Too hot for the month of May")	1983		Romanian

gollark: Does that work even if you're not on?

gollark: Which then just needs a hopper or something.

gollark: Because of the space contraction nonsense, each turtle's individual portal can come out at a single nether location.

gollark: Even better idea: have them carry 10 obsidian and a laser, and every time they fill their inventories construct a nether portal and drop items through it.

gollark: Well, yes, but only to/from your inventory and enderchest.

References

(in Romanian) Gabriela Dumba, Pur și SIMPLU, Maia Morgenstern Archived 2008-05-27 at the Wayback Machine, ("Pure and simple, Maia Morgenstern", but with a pun, because Simplu is a Romanian musical group with whom she had done a video), Gardianul, December 23, 2006. Accessed online December 20, 2007.
(in Romanian) Florin Mitu, 2007 Interviu: Maia Morgenstern, AMOS News, November 17, 2007. He addresses her, "Sunteți un simbol al teatrului și filmului românesc…". Accessed online December 20, 2007.
"Maia Morgenstern received a star on Walk of Fame, for her birthday", Adevărul.ro
(in Romanian) Florin Mitu, 2007 Interviu: Maia Morgenstern, AMOS News, November 17, 2007. Accessed online December 20, 2007.
The Passion of the Christ: About the Language, CinemaReview.com. Accessed online December 20, 2007.
Marco R. della Cava, J.C., 'morning star' and Mel Gibson, USA Today, posted 2/22/2004 9:39 PM, updated 2/23/2004 11:21 AM; retrieved March 1, 2005.
'Passion' actress: Film not anti-Semitic Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine, CNN, February 4, 2004. Accessed 20 December 2007.
Naomi Pfefferman, Jewish Actress Proud to be Mel Gibson’s Virgin Mary Archived 2006-06-28 at the Wayback Machine, The Jewish Journal, November 1, 2003. Reproduced on the New American Media Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine site, a site focusing on ethnic journalism. Accessed online December 20, 2007.
(in Romanian) Evelyn Badea, Maia Morgenstern, femeia care ştie să aibă succes în toate Archived 2007-12-20 at the Wayback Machine, Adevărul, 20 October 2007 Accessed online 20 December 2007.
Awards for Balanta (1992), IMDB. Accessed 20 December 2007.
Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards, UK: 2004, IMDB. Accessed 20 December 2007.

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[Dumba-1] (in Romanian) Gabriela Dumba, Pur și SIMPLU, Maia Morgenstern Archived 2008-05-27 at the Wayback Machine, ("Pure and simple, Maia Morgenstern", but with a pun, because Simplu is a Romanian musical group with whom she had done a video), Gardianul, December 23, 2006. Accessed online December 20, 2007.

[2] (in Romanian) Florin Mitu, 2007 Interviu: Maia Morgenstern, AMOS News, November 17, 2007. He addresses her, "Sunteți un simbol al teatrului și filmului românesc…". Accessed online December 20, 2007.

[3] "Maia Morgenstern received a star on Walk of Fame, for her birthday", Adevărul.ro

[Mitu-4] (in Romanian) Florin Mitu, 2007 Interviu: Maia Morgenstern, AMOS News, November 17, 2007. Accessed online December 20, 2007.

[5] The Passion of the Christ: About the Language, CinemaReview.com. Accessed online December 20, 2007.

[6] Marco R. della Cava, J.C., 'morning star' and Mel Gibson, USA Today, posted 2/22/2004 9:39 PM, updated 2/23/2004 11:21 AM; retrieved March 1, 2005.

[7] 'Passion' actress: Film not anti-Semitic Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine, CNN, February 4, 2004. Accessed 20 December 2007.

[8] Naomi Pfefferman, Jewish Actress Proud to be Mel Gibson’s Virgin Mary Archived 2006-06-28 at the Wayback Machine, The Jewish Journal, November 1, 2003. Reproduced on the New American Media Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine site, a site focusing on ethnic journalism. Accessed online December 20, 2007.

[Badea-9] (in Romanian) Evelyn Badea, Maia Morgenstern, femeia care ştie să aibă succes în toate Archived 2007-12-20 at the Wayback Machine, Adevărul, 20 October 2007 Accessed online 20 December 2007.

[imdb-balanta-10] Awards for Balanta (1992), IMDB. Accessed 20 December 2007.

[11] Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards, UK: 2004, IMDB. Accessed 20 December 2007.