Nato Vachnadze

1904-53 / actress

In 1923, at 19 years of age, a photo of Nato displayed in the window of an atelier led to her being cast in the film "Arsena the Brigand". This was soon followed by "Patricide". Having made a great impression, she then acted in "Three Lives" and "The Tariel Mklavadze Case".

Her instant success was due not only to her physical beauty but also to her natural acting ability. The press wrote at the time that, in contrast to many film stars abroad, she was not a poseur characterized by artificiality. Her gestures were clear and not excessively dramatic, in moments of both happiness and sorrow.

Her fifth film was Aleksandre Tsutsunava's "Who is to Blame?", a role that made her the first real Georgian film star. She also worked with Kote Marjanishvili and with Nikoloz Shengelia, who was just starting out at the time and who she later married.

In the 1930s she acted in films by directors Mikheil Chiaureli, Siko Dolidze, Nikoloz Pipinashvili, and Nikoloz Shengelia. After a long pause she appeared in 1947 in Pipinashvili's "Akaki's Cradle", playing the role of the nanny of poet Akaki Tsereteli.