83 Facts About Kim Novak

Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak was born on February 13,1933 and is an American retired film and television actress and painter.

Kim Novak is widely known for her performances as Madeleine Elster and Judy Barton in Alfred Hitchcock's thriller Vertigo with James Stewart.

Kim Novak appeared in The Mirror Crack'd, and had a regular role on the primetime series Falcon Crest.

Marilyn Pauline Kim Novak was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 13,1933.

Kim Novak is the second daughter of Joseph and Blanche Novak.

Kim Novak attended William Penn Elementary, Farragut High School, and Wright Junior College.

Kim Novak won two scholarships to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

In Los Angeles, with two other models, she, as Marilyn Kim Novak, were extras in Son of Sinbad, and later, for The French Line, starring Jane Russell at RKO.

In Los Angeles, Kim Novak was discovered by an agent, who signed her to a long-term contract with Columbia Pictures.

Therefore, Kim Novak fought with Columbia's chief, Harry Cohn, over the changing of her name.

Columbia intended for Kim Novak to be their successor to Rita Hayworth, their biggest star of the 1940s, whose career had declined;, the studio was hopeful that Kim Novak would bring them the same box-office success Marilyn Monroe brought 20th Century-Fox.

Kim Novak then played Madge Owens in the film version of Picnic, from the William Inge play, co-starring William Holden and Rosalind Russell.

Logan says Harry Cohn suggested Kim Novak appear in the film but did not insist upon it: the director tested her for the role several times and was delighted with her performance, feeling she was close to her character.

Picnic was a resounding critical and box-office triumph, and Kim Novak won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer.

Kim Novak was nominated for the BAFTA Film Award for Best Foreign Actress but did not win.

Kim Novak loved it, as she could identify with the character and agreed to take part in the film without meeting Hitchcock.

Kim Novak hired new agents to represent her and demanded an adjustment in her contract.

Cohn, who was paid $250,000 for Kim Novak to do Vertigo, suspended her, but after a few weeks of negotiations, he relented and offered her a new contract worthy of a major star.

Kim Novak finally reported for work, and according to Hitchcock, she had "all sorts of preconceived notions" about her character, including what she would and would not wear.

Kim Novak learned to make it work for her, as she saw it as a symbol of her character.

Kim Novak described Hitchcock as a gentleman but found the experience of working with him to be strange.

Kim Novak allowed himself to slowly come out of it.

Kim Novak received mixed reviews for her performance, but she managed to surprise film critics.

Kim Novak again worked with Stewart in Richard Quine's Bell, Book and Candle, a comedy tale of modern-day witchcraft starring Jack Lemmon and Ernie Kovacs that proved to be a box-office success.

Kim Novak starred opposite Kirk Douglas in the romantic drama Strangers When We Meet, which drew mixed reviews but was a success financially.

Kim Novak made an independent five-picture deal, with producer Martin Ransohoff and Filmways Pictures to co-produce, but it proved to be a bad choice owing to clashes with personalities over scripts.

Kim Novak starred in the historical comedy The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders in England with British actor Richard Johnson.

Kim Novak married Johnson in 1965 and divorced him in the spring of 1966.

In 1966, Kim Novak was cast as the female lead in the occult-themed mystery Eye of the Devil, co-starring David Niven.

Kim Novak was forced to leave the film after she fell off a horse, resulting in serious injuries which took time to recover from and she was replaced by Deborah Kerr.

Kim Novak preferred to concentrate on her first love, the visual arts, often writing poetry to accompany her paintings, and even writing some song lyrics.

Kim Novak returned to the screen for The Legend of Lylah Clare, starring Peter Finch and Ernest Borgnine, and directed by Robert Aldrich.

Kim Novak played a dual role, portraying a person who becomes possessed by a look-alike film actress who gets made over by her obsessive-compulsive director lover.

Robert Aldrich asked Kim Novak to do a German accent for that role, but she felt it was unbelievable and over the top, so she did not want to do it, and he never insisted.

At the premiere, Kim Novak was shocked to hear her voice had been dubbed by a German actress in many scenes.

The film was aggressively scorned by critics and Kim Novak drew some of the worst reviews of her career.

Kim Novak was extremely upset and regretted having starred in the film.

The last film Kim Novak made in the '60s was the Western comedy The Great Bank Robbery, opposite Zero Mostel, Clint Walker, and Claude Akins.

Kim Novak returned to the screen with a role in the horror anthology film Tales That Witness Madness.

Kim Novak starred as Las Vegas chorus girl Gloria Joyce, a character with whom she could identify, in the made-for-TV movie, The Third Girl From the Left, with her real-life boyfriend at the time, Michael Brandon.

Kim Novak admitted a preference for TV films as she thought they were faster to shoot than features.

In 1975, Kim Novak took part in the ABC movie Satan's Triangle because she was intrigued by the story, which dealt in the supernatural.

Kim Novak had a small role in The White Buffalo, a Western starring Charles Bronson, and she ended the decade by playing Helga in Just a Gigolo, opposite David Bowie.

In 1980, Kim Novak played fictional actress Lola Brewster in the British mystery-thriller The Mirror Crack'd, based on the story by Agatha Christie.

Kim Novak co-starred alongside Angela Lansbury, Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Kim Novak enjoyed making the film and got along with her co-stars and the film was moderately successful.

Kim Novak did not appear in any feature films during the remainder of the 1980s.

Kim Novak's acting credits during the decade included the ensemble television movie Malibu and the pilot episode of The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Kim Novak appeared as the secretive "Kit Marlowe" in 19 episodes from 1986 to 1987.

The former Marilyn Pauline Kim Novak wryly described this turn of events as effectively being Cohn's revenge on her from beyond the grave.

In 1989, Kim Novak appeared along with James Stewart as a presenter at the 61st Academy Awards.

Kim Novak decided to re-establish contact with her agent and seek challenging roles after she realized she was not satisfied artistically.

Leonard Maltin praised the acting and felt Kim Novak's performance was "excellent".

Kim Novak loved the script and thought it was going to be an important picture.

Kim Novak agreed to do the film under the impression she was going to play the whole character, but Figgis felt she was unable to play the flashback role the way he wanted, and hired actress Sarah Fearon for those scenes.

Kim Novak was unhappy, as she felt he wanted her to act like a puppet.

Kim Novak was supposed to do a comedy with the French director Claude Berri, starring Peter Falk, and a remake of Bell, Book and Candle with Sharon Stone.

Kim Novak enjoyed their work so much, she agreed to make appearances at screenings of the film, something she had refused when Universal asked her in 1984.

Kim Novak took part in Obsessed with Vertigo, a documentary retracing the making and restoration of the film.

In 1997, Kim Novak received an Honorary Golden Bear Award for lifetime achievement at the 47th Berlin International Film Festival.

In 2003, Kim Novak was presented with the Eastman Kodak Archives Award for her major contribution to film.

That same year, Kim Novak received the San Francisco Cinematic Icon Award from the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society.

Kim Novak took part in the festival's closing ceremony as a presenter, earning a standing ovation upon her entrance.

Kim Novak introduced a screening of her 1958 movie, Bell Book and Candle, during the Festival.

Also in 2014, Kim Novak was invited by Cunard Line to be a speaker on board during a New York-to-London cruise on RMS Queen Mary 2.

That same year, Kim Novak appeared with both of her art mentors, Harley Brown and Richard McKinley, for a solo show of her paintings at the Butler Institute of American Art.

In 2015, Kim Novak attended the 22nd Febiofest international film festival, where she received the Kristian Award for her contribution to world cinema and had an exhibition of her paintings at the Strahov Monastery.

Kim Novak hosted special screenings of Vertigo featuring live performances of Bernard Herrmann's score by members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and by members of the San Francisco Symphony at the Louise M Davies Symphony Hall in 2016.

Also in 2016, Kim Novak was invited by Turner Classic Movies to be a guest on their Caribbean Cruise where she sold five of her paintings and was able to raise nearly $7,000 for the prevention of teenage suicide with the auction of a framed giclee of her.

On February 8,1960, Kim Novak was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6332 Hollywood Boulevard.

Kim Novak was honored with a Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement at the 47th Berlin International Film Festival in 1997 and was presented with the Eastman Kodak Archives Award for her major contribution to film in 2003.

In 2012, Kim Novak was honored in a handprint and footprint ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Kim Novak influenced many actors, as well as fashion designers with the roles she played.

Renee Zellweger said that Kim Novak was "pure magic" and dressed up as her character from Vertigo for a photo shoot for the March 2008 issue of Vanity Fair.

Kim Novak had an air of uptightness you wouldn't want to cross.

Kim Novak dated Michael Brandon, Wilt Chamberlain, David Hemmings, and Porfirio Rubirosa.

Kim Novak was engaged to director Richard Quine in 1959.

In 1966, Kim Novak left Hollywood for Big Sur, where she raised horses and painted, making an occasional film.

In 1997, Kim Novak bought a 43-acre ranch in Sams Valley, Oregon, which the couple made into their home.

Kim Novak took classes in painting with pastels from artists Harley Brown and Richard McKinley.

Kim Novak suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs, and nerve damage, but made a full recovery within a year.

In October 2010, her manager, Sue Cameron, reported that Kim Novak had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Kim Novak continued her creative endeavors as a photographer, poet, and visual artist painting in watercolor, oil, and pastel.