Lotte Lenya

Lotte Lenya was an Austrian-American singer and actress who became known for her interpretations of Kurt Weill's songs. Born in Vienna, she began her stage career in the Weimar Republic, taking the role of Jenny in the 1928 premiere of The Threepenny Opera, a part that made her name. She also sang the lead in The Seven Deadly Sins in Paris after leaving Germany in 1933. She settled in New York City in 1935 and later won a Tony Award in 1956 for playing Jenny in Marc Blitzstein's English adaptation of The Threepenny Opera. Her screen work included Tennessee Williams's The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961), which earned her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, and the James Bond film From Russia with Love (1963) as Rosa Klebb. She originated Fräulein Schneider in Cabaret on Broadway in 1966, founded the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, and in 1979 received induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame.