1. Ganna Walska was married six times, four times to wealthy husbands.
10 Facts About Ganna Walska
1. 2.
Ganna Walska was born Hanna Puacz on 26 June 1887 in Brest, Russian Empire, to Polish parents Napoleon Puacz and Karolina Massalska.
3.
In 1922, after her marriage to Harold F McCormick, Ganna Walska purchased the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris.
4.
Marjorie Lawrence, another student of Gilly's, stated that it was clear that Walska had little aptitude for music, but that Gilly took her on for the money.
5.
McCormick spent thousands of dollars on voice lessons for her and even arranged for Ganna Walska to take the lead in a production of Zaza by Ruggero Leoncavallo at the Chicago Opera in 1920.
6.
Reportedly, Ganna Walska got into an argument with director Pietro Cimini during dress rehearsal and stormed out of the production before she appeared.
7.
Contemporaries said Ganna Walska had a terrible voice, pleasing only to McCormick.
8.
In 1926 Ganna Walska purchased the Duchess of Marlborough Faberge egg that had been offered by Consuelo Vanderbilt at a charity auction.
9.
Ganna Walska died on March 2,1984, at Lotusland, leaving her garden and her fortune to the Ganna Walska Lotusland Foundation.
10.
Ganna Walska devoted the rest of her life to designing, redesigning, expanding, and maintaining the estate's renowned innovative and extensive gardens.