- Original name:
- Marilyn Pauline Novak
- Awards And Honors:
- Golden Globe Award (1955)
- Golden Globe Award (1957): World Film Favorites
- Golden Globe Award (1955): New Star of the Year - Actress
- Married To:
- Richard Johnson (1965–1966)
- Robert Malloy (1976–present)
- Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):
- "The Great Bank Robbery" (1969)
- "Pepe" (1960)
- "The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders" (1965)
- "The Notorious Landlady" (1962)
- "Jeanne Eagels" (1957)
- "The White Buffalo" (1977)
- "Falcon Crest" (1986–1987)
- "Of Human Bondage" (1964)
- "5 Against the House" (1955)
- "Middle of the Night" (1959)
- "Strangers When We Meet" (1960)
- "The Children" (1990)
- "Picnic" (1956)
- "The Legend of Lylah Clare" (1968)
- "Pushover" (1954)
- "Tales That Witness Madness" (1973)
- "The Man with the Golden Arm" (1955)
- "Pal Joey" (1957)
- "Bell Book and Candle" (1958)
- "Liebestraum" (1991)
- "The Mirror Crack'd" (1980)
- "The Eddy Duchin Story" (1956)
- "Phffft" (1954)
- "Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo" (1978)
- "Vertigo" (1958)
- "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1985)
- "Boys' Night Out" (1962)
- "Kiss Me, Stupid" (1964)
Kim Novak
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Who is Kim Novak?
Kim Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American actress who rose to stardom in the mid- to late 1950s. She is best known for playing Madeleine Elster and Judy Barton in Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological thriller Vertigo (1958). Though not initially a commercial success, both Vertigo and Novak’s performance are now considered important contributions to cinema.
In the mid-1950s, Novak played leading roles in films such as The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Picnic (1956), and Pal Joey (1957). For three years in a row in the 1950s, she was the top box-office star. Novak retired from acting after a disagreement during the filming of Liebestraum (1991).
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is Kim Novak best known for?
Kim Novak, born February 13, 1933, is an American actress who gained prominence in the mid- to late 1950s. She is best known for her dual role as Madeleine Elster and Judy Barton in Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological thriller Vertigo (1958). Though not initially a commercial success, both Vertigo and Novak’s performance are now celebrated as significant contributions to cinema history.
Novak was a top box-office star for three consecutive years in the 1950s. Other notable films include Picnic (1956), for which she earned a BAFTA nomination, and Pal Joey (1957).
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Which famous movies did Kim Novak star in?
Kim Novak, born Marilyn Pauline Novak on February 13, 1933, is an American actress who rose to fame in the mid- to late 1950s.
Novak starred in several famous movies, including:
* Vertigo (1958). She played a dual role in this Alfred Hitchcock psychological thriller.
* Picnic (1956). This is often considered her breakthrough film, where she starred as a small-town young woman.
* Pal Joey (1957). She received praise for her performance as a singer and dancer in this musical.
* Bell, Book and Candle (1958). Novak played an art gallery owner who is also a witch in this romantic comedy.
* The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Novak was cast as Molly, the sympathetic former flame of Frank Sinatra's character.2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What was Kim Novak’s role in the movie 'Vertigo'?
Kim Novak played a dual role in Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 psychological thriller Vertigo, portraying both Madeleine Elster and Judy Barton.
The two women are part of a scheme to deceive an acrophobic former detective, played by Jimmy Stewart, with whom Barton falls in love. Though the film wasn't a commercial hit initially, both Vertigo and Novak's performance are now celebrated as major contributions to cinema and what is arguably Hitchcock's finest film.
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How did Kim Novak become a Hollywood star?
Kim Novak's rise to Hollywood stardom began when she moved from Chicago, where she worked as a model, to Hollywood to audition as an extra in The French Line (1954).
There, she caught the eye of Harry Cohn, the president of Columbia Pictures, who signed her and molded her into a Hollywood sex symbol. Cohn urged her to slim down and, with Marilyn Monroe's rising fame, suggested she change her first name to Kim while allowing her to keep her surname. She took acting lessons and was soon cast in films with established actors like Fred MacMurray and Jack Lemmon.
Her breakthrough came in the mid-1950s, with leading roles in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) and Picnic (1956), the latter earning her a BAFTA nomination. Novak won a Golden Globe for most promising newcomer for her performance in The Eddy Duchin Story (1956). She was a top box-office star for three consecutive years in the 1950s.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How has Kim Novak influenced film and popular culture?
Kim Novak, an American actress, gained prominence in the mid- to late 1950s. Her roles often challenged the perception of women as mere "sultry sex objects," mirroring her own career struggles.
Novak's performance in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is now celebrated as a significant contribution to cinema history. She was a top box-office star for three consecutive years in the 1950s after leading roles in films such as The Man with the Golden Arm and Picnic.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Kim Novak (born February 13, 1933, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) is an American actor who was a popular star in the mid- to late 1950s, best known for her dual performance as Madeleine Elster and Judy Barton in Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological thriller Vertigo (1958). The two women portrayed by Novak are part of a plot to trick an acrophobic former detective (played by Jimmy Stewart), with whom Barton falls in love. Although it was not a commercial success at the time of its release, Vertigo and Novak’s performance are now celebrated as significant contributions to cinema history and to what is arguably Hitchcock’s finest film.
As a teenager, Novak left Chicago, where she was working as a model, and moved to Hollywood to audition to be an extra in The French Line (1954), a film starring Jane Russell. She succeeded in that mission and also came to the attention of the president of Columbia Pictures, Harry Cohn, who offered her a contract and groomed her for a career as a Hollywood sex symbol. Cohn transformed her image, instructing her to lose weight and, as another young actress named Marilyn—Marilyn Monroe—was then a rising star, suggested that she change her name. Although she insisted on keeping her surname, she adopted the given name Kim. She also took acting lessons and, early on, was cast in films opposite well-established actors such as Fred MacMurray (Pushover, 1954) and Jack Lemmon (Phffft, 1954).
In the mid-1950s Novak was given leading roles in several films. In The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Frank Sinatra played a master card dealer and ex-con trying to make it as a jazz drummer, a path impeded by his heroin addiction and his deceptive wife. Novak was cast as the strip-club dancer Molly, his sympathetic former flame, who stands by him as he goes “cold turkey” in an attempt to get his life back on track. In Picnic (1956), which starred William Holden, Novak’s character—a small-town young woman—laments always being “the pretty one” instead of “the smart one.” Novak earned a nomination for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for that role. Picnic is often considered her breakthrough film. In both Picnic and The Man with the Golden Arm Novak’s characters try to deflect the infatuation of her suitors, desiring to be more than just a sultry sex object, a challenge, it is thought, that the actress herself faced throughout her career. In addition, Novak’s performance as a socialite who marries the title character in The Eddy Duchin Story (1956) won her a Golden Globe for most-promising newcomer.
She won praise for her performance as a singer and dancer who is able to resist the charms of a womanizing singer (Sinatra) in the popular musical Pal Joey (1957), which also featured Rita Hayworth. After Vertigo Novak gave another standout performance in the romantic comedy Bell, Book and Candle (1958) opposite Stewart and Lemmon. Novak played an art gallery owner who is also a witch. She is forced to conceal her true identity and choose between love (with Stewart) or her supernatural powers. In Billy Wilder’s farcical comedy Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), Novak starred as Polly the Pistol, a waitress and prostitute. Although it is considered to show her in one of her better roles, the film opened to poor reviews and was criticized for its coarseness.
Novak was the top box-office star for three consecutive years in the 1950s. The trajectory of her career began to stall, however, when she appeared in such unsuccessful features such as Kiss Me, Stupid and The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965). That career change coincided with Cohn’s death, which Novak believed had much to do with the professional struggles she faced thereafter. None of her intermittent later movies approached the success of her early films. Her most notable later role was that of the conniving Kit Marlowe in the 1986–87 season of the television series Falcon Crest (1981–90). She retired from acting after a disagreement with the writer-director Mike Figgis during the filming of Liebestraum (1991).