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Kim Novak to receive Life Achievement honor at Venice Film Festival
1 of 3 | Kim Novak is to be honored at the Venice Film Festival this summer. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
June 9 (UPI) -- Vertigo and Of Human Bondage actress Kim Novak is set to receive the Golden Lion Life Achievement honor at the Venice Film Festival this summer.
"Inadvertently becoming a screen legend, Kim Novak was one of the most beloved icons of an entire era of Hollywood films, from her auspicious debut during the mid-1950s until her premature and voluntary exile from the gilded cage of Los Angeles a short while later," the festival's director Alberto Barbera said in a statement Monday.
"She never refrained from criticizing the studio system, choosing her roles, who she let into her private life and even her name. Forced to renounce her given name, Marilyn Pauline, because it was associated with Monroe, she fought to conserve her last name, agreeing, in exchange, to dye her hair that shade of platinum blonde which set her apart. Independent and nonconformist, she created her own production company and went on strike to renegotiate a salary that was much lower than that of her male co-stars."
Novak, 92, is also known for her roles in Kiss Me, Stupid, The Man With the Golden Arm, The Legend of Lylah Clare, The Eddy Duchin Story, Pal Joey, Pushover, Bell Book and Candle, Strangers When We Meet and The Notorious Landlady.
The 82nd edition of the festival is to take place Aug. 27 through Sept. 6.
#BiennaleCinema2025 The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of #Venezia82 goes to the legendary American actress #KimNovak. "To be recognised for my body of work at this time in my life is a dream come true. I will treasure every moment I spend in #Venice. It will fill my heart... La Biennale di Venezia (@la_Biennale) June 9, 2025
