Monalisa Basarab
- Actress
Monalisa Basarab is a Romanian theatre and movie actress. She was born on 23 April 1972 in Tulcea, Romania.
She started her artistic career during high school when she attended the courses of the Traditional School of Arts, within the Centre for Preserving and Capitalizing Traditions and Popular Creation Tulcea. On this occasion she was part of the theatre group "Altar" and her acting teacher Ion Dore offered her the main role Nona in the play "Whirling Waters" by Lucian Blaga ("Tulburarea Apelor" in Romanian). With this role she got the award for the best female performance, in 1991, at Yorick Theatre Festival in Piatra Neamt, Romania.
She studied acting at the Faculty of Theatre and Television within the "Babes-Bolyai" University Cluj-Napoca, class 1995. In the same year she made her debut as professional actor at Oradea State Theatre, with the role Ana in the play "Take, Yanke and Kadyr" by V.I. Popa ("Tache, Ianke si Cadar" in Romanian), directed by Mihai Fotino. Among the roles she played, it can be emphasised: The colonel's daughter in "Outside, in Front of the Door" by Wolfgang Borchert ("Afara in fata usii" in Romanian) (1996) and a travesty Charinus in "Pseudolus" by Plaut (1997), representative for drama roles.
Starting with 1999 and until 2002 she collaborated with theatres from Bucharest: the "I.L.Caragiale" National Theatre for the play "Dew Drops on A Lotus Leaf in Bright Moon" by Nicolae Mateescu ("Boabe de roua pe frunza de lotus in bataia lunii" in Romanian), directed by Gelu Colceag; with Nottara Theatre for "Marriage" by Gogol ("Casatoria" in Romanian) and for "The Beauty of Venice in September" by Teodor Mazilu ("Frumos e in septembrie la Venetia" in Romanian) directed by Nicolae Scarlat.
In 2002, she is admitted, following an audition, as actress of the "Constantin Tanase" Variety Theatre in Bucharest, the most representative genre theatre in Romania.
Among the remarkable roles played at the "Constantin Tanase" Variety Theatre one can mention: Suzy in "Tanase's One Hundred" ("Suta lui Tanase" in Romanian) - 2019; the Moldavian girl in "Go, go Romania!" ("Hai, hai Romania!" in Romanian) - 2018; the characters: Sandy Bell, applicant no. 4 in the play "Nice air! Like in Herastrau!" ("Aer bun! De Herastrau!" in Romanian) - 2015; the spoiled young lady in "Comedy on Titanic" ("Comedie pe Titanic" in Romanian) - 2012; the roles: Barbie doll, Nurse, Torero dancer, the Gypsy in "Women's idols" ("Idolii Femeilor" in Romanian) - 2008.
The year 1999 marked the debut on the large screen with the German production "Nostradamus-Prophet of Doom" in series "Sphinx-Secrets of the History" directed by Klein Gunther ("Nostradamus-Prophet des Untergangs" in series "Sphinx-Geheimnisse der Geschichte" in German), where she played the role of Nostradamus' wife, who died of plague.
She also performed in other foreign productions, especially in the French ones: "Les 7 vies du Dr. Laux" (1999) ("The seven lives of Dr. Laux") starring Sophie Broustal, Philippe Caroit; "De plein fouet" (2000) ("Hit in full") starring Delphine Rollin, Samuel Labarthe; "Les Percutes" (2002) ("Triggered") starring Denis Karvil; "Corps et Ames" (2003) ("Bodies and Souls") starring Helene De Fougerolles, Jean Marie-Lamour and Jean-Yves Berteloot; "Une Place Parmi Les Vivants" (2003) ("A place Among the Living") starring Christian Vadim; "Elodie Bradford-Pilote" (2004) starring Anthony Delon; "Le Pere Goriot" (2004) ("Old Goriot") starring Charles Aznavour; "Die Deutschen-Wallenstein Und Der Krieg" (2008) ("Germans-Wallenstein and the war") starring Stefan Jürgens.
In Romanian cinematography she was cast in the fictional feature film "The Way I Spent the End of the World" ("Cum mi-am petrecut sfarsitul lumii" in Romanian), directed by Catalin Mitulescu, production 2006, where she plays the role of a choir teacher. The movie attended the International Film Festival at Cannes and got the award for "Un Certain Regard Best Actress".
She also performed in Romanian series for television: "U.M. 02003" (2003) ; "Leana and Costel" (2003); "Living in a block" (2003-2004); "The Weird Men in NATO" (2008); "Mothers' Doctors" (2008); "Nobody is perfect" (2009); "Narcisa: Outrageous loves" (2011); "Sol Key" (2015); "Olivia's Heritage" (2016).
During all this time she also appeared in TV shows, shows, videos, TV commercials and she posed for various fashion editorials.
She started her artistic career during high school when she attended the courses of the Traditional School of Arts, within the Centre for Preserving and Capitalizing Traditions and Popular Creation Tulcea. On this occasion she was part of the theatre group "Altar" and her acting teacher Ion Dore offered her the main role Nona in the play "Whirling Waters" by Lucian Blaga ("Tulburarea Apelor" in Romanian). With this role she got the award for the best female performance, in 1991, at Yorick Theatre Festival in Piatra Neamt, Romania.
She studied acting at the Faculty of Theatre and Television within the "Babes-Bolyai" University Cluj-Napoca, class 1995. In the same year she made her debut as professional actor at Oradea State Theatre, with the role Ana in the play "Take, Yanke and Kadyr" by V.I. Popa ("Tache, Ianke si Cadar" in Romanian), directed by Mihai Fotino. Among the roles she played, it can be emphasised: The colonel's daughter in "Outside, in Front of the Door" by Wolfgang Borchert ("Afara in fata usii" in Romanian) (1996) and a travesty Charinus in "Pseudolus" by Plaut (1997), representative for drama roles.
Starting with 1999 and until 2002 she collaborated with theatres from Bucharest: the "I.L.Caragiale" National Theatre for the play "Dew Drops on A Lotus Leaf in Bright Moon" by Nicolae Mateescu ("Boabe de roua pe frunza de lotus in bataia lunii" in Romanian), directed by Gelu Colceag; with Nottara Theatre for "Marriage" by Gogol ("Casatoria" in Romanian) and for "The Beauty of Venice in September" by Teodor Mazilu ("Frumos e in septembrie la Venetia" in Romanian) directed by Nicolae Scarlat.
In 2002, she is admitted, following an audition, as actress of the "Constantin Tanase" Variety Theatre in Bucharest, the most representative genre theatre in Romania.
Among the remarkable roles played at the "Constantin Tanase" Variety Theatre one can mention: Suzy in "Tanase's One Hundred" ("Suta lui Tanase" in Romanian) - 2019; the Moldavian girl in "Go, go Romania!" ("Hai, hai Romania!" in Romanian) - 2018; the characters: Sandy Bell, applicant no. 4 in the play "Nice air! Like in Herastrau!" ("Aer bun! De Herastrau!" in Romanian) - 2015; the spoiled young lady in "Comedy on Titanic" ("Comedie pe Titanic" in Romanian) - 2012; the roles: Barbie doll, Nurse, Torero dancer, the Gypsy in "Women's idols" ("Idolii Femeilor" in Romanian) - 2008.
The year 1999 marked the debut on the large screen with the German production "Nostradamus-Prophet of Doom" in series "Sphinx-Secrets of the History" directed by Klein Gunther ("Nostradamus-Prophet des Untergangs" in series "Sphinx-Geheimnisse der Geschichte" in German), where she played the role of Nostradamus' wife, who died of plague.
She also performed in other foreign productions, especially in the French ones: "Les 7 vies du Dr. Laux" (1999) ("The seven lives of Dr. Laux") starring Sophie Broustal, Philippe Caroit; "De plein fouet" (2000) ("Hit in full") starring Delphine Rollin, Samuel Labarthe; "Les Percutes" (2002) ("Triggered") starring Denis Karvil; "Corps et Ames" (2003) ("Bodies and Souls") starring Helene De Fougerolles, Jean Marie-Lamour and Jean-Yves Berteloot; "Une Place Parmi Les Vivants" (2003) ("A place Among the Living") starring Christian Vadim; "Elodie Bradford-Pilote" (2004) starring Anthony Delon; "Le Pere Goriot" (2004) ("Old Goriot") starring Charles Aznavour; "Die Deutschen-Wallenstein Und Der Krieg" (2008) ("Germans-Wallenstein and the war") starring Stefan Jürgens.
In Romanian cinematography she was cast in the fictional feature film "The Way I Spent the End of the World" ("Cum mi-am petrecut sfarsitul lumii" in Romanian), directed by Catalin Mitulescu, production 2006, where she plays the role of a choir teacher. The movie attended the International Film Festival at Cannes and got the award for "Un Certain Regard Best Actress".
She also performed in Romanian series for television: "U.M. 02003" (2003) ; "Leana and Costel" (2003); "Living in a block" (2003-2004); "The Weird Men in NATO" (2008); "Mothers' Doctors" (2008); "Nobody is perfect" (2009); "Narcisa: Outrageous loves" (2011); "Sol Key" (2015); "Olivia's Heritage" (2016).
During all this time she also appeared in TV shows, shows, videos, TV commercials and she posed for various fashion editorials.
