Anna Volska (b. 1944), actor, came from Poland to Australia with her mother when she was seven. She graduated from NIDA in 1962. During a two-year stint with the Old Tote Theatre Company, while acting in The Cherry Orchard, she became attached to fellow cast member John Bell; they were married in 1965. Following his career, she spent three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-on-Avon, touring and bringing forth two daughters. She was a co-founder of the Nimrod Theatre, and directed several productions there, including As You Like It with Bell. (She has also directed productions for NIDA, Flinders, QUT, and the Nepean. ) The couple set up the Bell Shakespeare Company in 1990. Volska has appeared in many Shakespeare plays and also The Seagull and Three Sisters. She has appeared in many Australian television drama series; she was a central cast member of the popular family comedy The Godfathers (1971-1972) and in 1973, she won a Best Actress Logie for her portrayal of Helena Rubinstein in an episode of the ABC biographical series Behind the Legend. In the early 1980s she had a role in the hit television miniseries A Town Like Alice; she appeared on A Country Practice from 1987 until 1991. In 2009 she had a recurring role in the final season of All Saints, and in 2010 she appeared in the telemovie Sisters of War. Volska's daughter Hilary Bell is a playwright, while her daughter Lucy Bell is an actor.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the Estate of Stuart Campbell 2012
© Estate of Stuart Campbell
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