Actress Spotlight: Magda Konopka - The Perfidious Polish Princess July 28, 2016 08:00 1 Comment
Magda Konopka was born 1943 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. Oddly enough there is very little information to be found about Magda. With the exception of a handful of publicity photos and a few hearsay "facts" she's a relative enigma, disappearing into the void of cult cinema history as quickly as she appeared. Even though she had an active film career from the late 1960's through the 1970's, compared to a lot of her peers her 33 roles would be considered incredibly meager.
One of her largest and most recognized roles was 1968's Satanik, where she played a withered old woman who transforms into a psychopathic beauty after drinking a potent youth formula. She'd later go on to make an appearance in Hammer's vain attempt to recapitalize on the success of their Rachel Welch prehistoric adventure One Million Years B.C. with the stinker When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth. The remainder were co-staring parts in a handful of euro-spy films and Spaghetti Westerns, such as 1971's Blindman (with Ringo Starr). Her final film was an obscure Italian supernatural thriller titled La zia di Monica in 1980 which was after an already four year hiatus.
The little that could be found on her life appears to suggest she spent most of her time in the lime light rather recklessly. A child of Polish nobility she started modeling in the late 1950's, married a French-Canadian billionaire, a son of an ambassador, in 1967 when her film career began. The marriage lasted three months, she claimed he abused her, he claimed she was unfaithful and a thief.
She also had her fair share of legal issues, even being fined by a movie studio for failing to appear on set. As it turns out she was off having an affair in Capri. If any of this bears merit then it's not too far fetched to see why her resume is rather small compared to other actresses of the time and why her career seemed to taper off rather quickly. Still there's no denying the shear beauty of Magda Konopka, who was one of many examples of a model turned actress more known for her body than her "body of work", and the numerous magazine covers she so beautifully graced.
Classic Covers:
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Rudolf Als on July 7, 2023 10:47
The truth about Magda.
Magda Konopka was born on September 17, 1939, in Warsaw, as Malgorzata (pol. Margarita), Magda Kolaczkowska. Both her parents were Polish. Her father was well-known, and richl ENT doctor from Polish spa Szczawnica – Zbigniew Kolaczkowski. Her mother Janina Szandrowska from Warsaw was the owner of “Janeczka” guest house in Zakopane, “the winter capital of Poland”. The parents divorced becouse of her father infidelity. The girl went to London in 1959 year with her mother, and the father stayed in Poland… Her mother married baron Konopka (Nowina-Konopka), a Polish political emigrant from London,
Then the girl had the official right to use aristocratic title “baronessina”. Magda official changed her last name to Konopka, and she also changed her first name to Magda.
There is a Magda’s fanpage on Facebook (polish language), with many fotos and new infos.