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The Most Famous

ACTORS from Poland

This page contains a list of the greatest Polish Actors. The pantheon dataset contains 9,996 Actors, 76 of which were born in Poland. This makes Poland the birth place of the 17th most number of Actors behind China and Turkey.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Polish Actors of all time. This list of famous Polish Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Polish Actors.

1. Klaus Kinski (1926 - 1991)

With an HPI of 69.94, Klaus Kinski is the most famous Polish Actor. His biography has been translated into 53 different languages on wikipedia.

Klaus Kinski (German: [klaʊs ˈkɪnskiː] , born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor. Equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality, he appeared in over 130 film roles in a career that spanned 40 years, from 1948 to 1988. He is best known for starring in five films directed by Werner Herzog from 1972 to 1987 (Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Woyzeck, Fitzcarraldo, and Cobra Verde), who would later chronicle their tumultuous relationship in the documentary My Best Fiend. Kinski's roles spanned multiple genres, languages, and nationalities, including Spaghetti Westerns, horror films, war films, dramas, and Edgar Wallace krimi films. His infamy was elevated by a number of eccentric creative endeavors, including a one-man show based on the life of Jesus Christ, a biopic of violinist Niccolò Paganini directed by and starring himself, and over twenty spoken word albums. Kinski was prone to emotional and often violent outbursts aimed at his directors and fellow cast members, issues complicated by a history of mental illness. Herzog described him as "one of the greatest actors of the century, but also a monster and a great pestilence." Posthumously, he was accused of physically and sexually abusing his daughters Pola and Nastassja, themselves actresses. His notoriety and prolific output has developed into a widespread cult following and a reputation as a popular icon.

2. Pola Negri (1897 - 1987)

With an HPI of 68.07, Pola Negri is the 2nd most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 48 different languages.

Pola Negri (; born Barbara Apolonia Chałupiec [apɔˈlɔɲa xaˈwupʲɛt͡s]; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienne and femme fatale roles. She was also acknowledged as a sex symbol. Raised in the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Negri's childhood was marked by several personal hardships: After her father was sent to Siberia, she was raised by her single mother in poverty, and suffered tuberculosis as a teenager. Negri recovered, and went on to study ballet and acting in Warsaw, Poland, becoming a well-known stage actress there. In 1917, she relocated to Germany, where she began appearing in silent films for the Berlin-based UFA studio. Her film performances for UFA came to the attention of Hollywood executives at Paramount Pictures, who offered her a film contract. Negri signed with Paramount in 1922, making her the first European actress in history to be contracted in Hollywood. She spent much of the 1920s working in the United States appearing in numerous films for Paramount, establishing herself as one of the most popular actresses in American silent film. In the 1930s, during the emergence of sound film, Negri returned to Europe, where she appeared in multiple films for Pathé Films and UFA, and also began a career as a recording artist. She made only two films after 1940, her last screen credit being in Walt Disney's The Moon-Spinners (1964). Negri spent her later life largely outside the public sphere. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1951, and spent the remainder of her life living in San Antonio, Texas. In 1987, aged 90, she died of pneumonia secondary to a brain tumor for which she refused treatment.

3. Hanna Schygulla (1943 - )

With an HPI of 63.23, Hanna Schygulla is the 3rd most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Hanna Schygulla (German: [ˈhana ʃyˈɡʊla] ; born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer associated with the theater and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked for Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German Cinema. Schygulla won the 1979 Berlin Silver Bear for Best Actress for Fassbinder's The Marriage of Maria Braun, and the 1983 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for the Marco Ferreri film The Story of Piera.

4. Barbara Brylska (1941 - )

With an HPI of 56.89, Barbara Brylska is the 4th most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Barbara Brylska (born 5 June 1941) is a Polish actress who gained critical acclaim in 1960s and was featured in numerous films throughout the countries of the Warsaw Pact including the Soviet Union. She is noted especially for her role as Nadya in the 1976 Soviet comedy film Irony of Fate.

5. Daniel Olbrychski (1945 - )

With an HPI of 56.65, Daniel Olbrychski is the 5th most famous Polish Actor. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Daniel Marcel Olbrychski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈdaɲɛl ˈmart͡sɛl ɔlˈbrɨxskʲi]; born 27 February 1945) is a Polish film and theatre actor who is widely considered one of the greatest Polish actors of his generation. He appeared in 180 films and TV productions and is best known for leading roles in several Andrzej Wajda movies including The Promised Land and also known for playing a defector and spymaster Vassily Orlov alongside Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie in the movie Salt.

6. Anny Ondra (1903 - 1987)

With an HPI of 56.37, Anny Ondra is the 6th most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Anny Ondra (born Anna Sophie Ondráková; 15 May 1903 – 28 February 1987) was a Czech film actress. She began her career in 1920 and appeared in Czech, German, Austrian, French and English films. In 1933, she married German boxing champion Max Schmeling.

7. Dita Parlo (1906 - 1971)

With an HPI of 55.89, Dita Parlo is the 7th most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Dita Parlo (born Grethe Gerda Kornstädt or Gerda Olga Justine Kornstädt; 4 September 1908 – 12 December 1971) was a German film actress.

8. Izabella Scorupco (1970 - )

With an HPI of 55.83, Izabella Scorupco is the 8th most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Izabella Scorupco (born Izabela Dorota Skorupko; 4 June 1970) is a Polish-Swedish actress, singer and model. She is best known for having played a Bond girl, Natalya Simonova, in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. She is also known for her cover of the Shirley & Company song "Shame, Shame, Shame" which was released in 1992 and became a European hit.

9. Beata Tyszkiewicz (1938 - )

With an HPI of 55.10, Beata Tyszkiewicz is the 9th most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Beata Maria Helena Tyszkiewicz (born 14 August 1938) is a retired Polish actress and TV personality.

10. Peter van Eyck (1911 - 1969)

With an HPI of 54.80, Peter van Eyck is the 10th most famous Polish Actor. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Peter van Eyck (born Götz von Eick; 16 July 1911 – 15 July 1969) was a German-American film and television actor. Born in Prussian Pomerania, he moved to the United States in the 1930s and established a career as a character actor. After World War II, he returned to his native country and became a star of West German cinema. Internationally, his best known roles included The Wages of Fear (1953), Mr. Arkadin (1955), The Longest Day (1962), The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965), and the 1960s Dr. Mabuse films. He was twice nominated for the German Film Award for Best Actor, for Blind Justice (1961) and for The River Line (1964).

People

Pantheon has 76 people classified as actors born between 1757 and 1992. Of these 76, 41 (53.95%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living actors include Hanna Schygulla, Barbara Brylska, and Daniel Olbrychski. The most famous deceased actors include Klaus Kinski, Pola Negri, and Anny Ondra. As of April 2022, 26 new actors have been added to Pantheon including Matthias Habich, Ingrid van Bergen, and Grażyna Szapołowska.