Actress Hana Brejchová, sister of the famous Jana Brejchová, died at the age of 77. On Monday morning, the servers Aha.cz and Blesk.cz reported it with a reference to the actress Tereza Brodská, the niece of Hana Brejchová. According to websites, Brejchová passed away a few days ago. She was known for her roles in the 1960s films Love of a Blonde and The Most Beautiful Age.
Hana Brejchová became a star with the main female role of the naive blonde Andula in Miloš Forman’s Love of a Blonde from 1965. The film revolves around a student from a boarding school who is seduced by a Prague pianist at a small-town party. After a night spent together, the girl comes to Prague with a suitcase to see him. When she gets there, she realizes that no one is waiting for her.
At the time, Hana Brejchová was still studying at the grammar school, she was born in December 1946. At that time, Forman was the life partner of Hana’s sister Jana. Unlike her, already a really famous actress, Hana had no acting experience before filming. Nevertheless, she managed to portray the heroine convincingly. In addition, he can also take credit for the creation of the film’s script, which Forman wrote with his proven collaborators Ivan Passer and Jaroslav Papousek. According to the actress, it also contained some stories and observations from her life. “Miloš started writing the script for Láská. And he needed substance, he needed reality. And I confided regarding my family problems, regarding love,” she said.
The film is still one of the Czech film classics and was also nominated for an Oscar. For him, Hana Brejchová won third place in the category of best female performance at the Venice festival. “For me, Lásky was a shock, because thanks to them, my first trip abroad went straight to Venice for a festival. There were stars, a new world for me. It seemed to me that I was in a fairy tale,” she recalled later.
After Love of a Blonde, Hana Brejchová got an offer to film in Yugoslavia. Slovenian director Jože Pogačnik chose her for his film Grajski biki.
After returning to Czechoslovakia, she appeared in two films: the children’s Giraffe in the Window and the bitter comedy The Most Beautiful Age by Jaroslav Papoušek from 1968. The role of Mrs. Vránová, who earns extra money as a model in a sculpture studio, confirmed her talent.
Hana Brejchová in the film The Most Beautiful Age from 1968. | Photo: Etiquette film
The year 1969 presented her with a difficult choice. After filming The Few Days… director Yves Ciampi offered her the opportunity to star in a film with the famous Alain Delon. However, before filming began, Hana Brejchová became pregnant and instead of cinematography, she decided to devote herself to her newly founded family.
In the first half of the 1970s, there was a gap in her work. It wasn’t until 1977 that she starred once more, specifically in the comedies Matej, why do girls not want you?, I’ll take it boss, Adéla hasn’t had dinner yet or later in the series Zlá krev, Circus Humberto and, following the revolution, Přitelkyně z dom smutku.
Apparently, also due to the emigration of Miloš Forman at the end of the 60s, however, Hana Brejchová did not experience a big acting comeback under the previous regime. She met Forman once more at work as a Hollywood director during the filming of the film Amadeus.
Later, problems in personal life were added. Her first marriage, from which she has two daughters, broke up, and in order to ensure a regular income for her family, Brejchová started working as a cleaner in a convenience store. There she also met her second husband, but even this relationship did not last and ended in divorce. Paradoxically, she married him once more shortly followingwards.
After 1989, Hana Brejchová decided to devote herself to business. At first, she and her husband ran a hotel in Doksy, later she ran an underwear store. Even in the 1990s, she appeared in several films, for example in the not very successful comedy Divoké pivo or in the TV movie Tvrz. She then withdrew into seclusion.
In 2009, according to the media, she almost burned to death in a fire in her apartment where she lived alone. “He grabbed the table, I had a leather sofa with armchairs there, the wall, books, underwear, everything was gone. I don’t know who saved my life, who called the fire brigade,” she told later in the nursing home in Buštěhrad, Kladensk, where she moved.
It was there in 2014 that the crew of Czech Television visited her during the filming of the show 13. chamber. “I was unhappy that I lost my home that burned down, but I wanted to be alone. I said: it may be as small as the palm of my hand, but I want to be alone,” she explained to the camera.
She met Miloš Forman occasionally even following the revolution. “Miloš remained my friend, he never threw me out. We never lost touch. Whenever he came from America, he always called me, he had an address, he had a phone, he said: Hanička, I’m here, I want to see you,” Hana Brejchová said.
Video: Trailer from the film Loves of a Blonde
The digitally restored version of the film Loves of a Blonde Starring Hana Brejchová premiered in 2019 at the Cannes Film Festival. | Video: National Film Archive