Marziia Iusuf Kyzy Davudova

Born Nov. 25 (Dec. 8), 1901, in Astrakhan; died Jan. 6, 1962, in Baku. Soviet Azerbaijani actress. People’s Artist of the USSR (1949). Member of the CPSU from 1942.

Davudova began her stage career in 1917. In 1920 she began working in an Azerbaijani theater in Baku (the contemporary M. Azizbekov Azerbaijan Dramatic Theater). One of her greatest achievements was her portrayal of Sevil’ in the play of the same name by Dzh. Dzhabarly, which deals with the transformation of a backward and submissive woman into a courageous and independent one. Davudova fully expressed the character of the Soviet woman and mother in the roles of Liubov’ Iarovaia in Trenev’s play of the same name. Klara in Afinogenov’s Fear, Gyz’eter in Vurgun’s Khanlar, and Giul’zar in Mamedkhanly’s Morning of the East. Her gift for tragedy was revealed by her portrayal of such characters as Desdemona and Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Othello and Macbeth, and Kruchinina in Ostrovskii’s Guilty Without Guilt. Her ability to reveal character was evident in her portrayal of Kabanikha in Ostrovskii’s The Thunderstorm, and Vassa Zheleznova in Gorky’s play of the same name. Davudova received the State Prize of the USSR in 1948 and was awarded two orders and various medals.