Mira Furlan (born 7
September 1955 in Zagreb, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia) is a Croatian
actress and singer currently residing in the United States. She is
probably best known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn on
the science fiction television series Babylon 5 and Danielle Rousseau
on Lost, and has been described as the Croatian equivalent of Meryl
Streep.
Early life
Furlan was born to a family that included a large number of university
professors in Zagreb, which was at that time part of Yugoslavia. It is
now the capital city of the Republic of Croatia. Furlan's paternal
grandfather was Slovene and her maternal grandfather Jewish.[1]
Career
Furlan was a member of the Croatian National Theatre and frequently
appeared in Yugoslav television and films, including Cannes Film
Festival winner When Father Was Away on Business (1985). In the 1980s,
she briefly appeared as singer for Le Cinema, a spin-off from the rock
band Film.
Furlan has also appeared on the Los Angeles stage. She has released an
album, Songs From Movies That Have Never Been Made. Furlan played
Minbari Ambassador Delenn for all five seasons of Babylon 5 and some
of the associated TV movies. Until recently she could be seen playing
the character Danielle Rousseau in the ABC television series Lost.
Furlan will also appear in the low-budget independent film Apology,
which (as of November 2007) is in post-production.[2][3] This will be
her first lead role on film since emigrating to the United States.
In 2002, she returned to Croatia after some 11 years to take the lead
role in Rade Šerbedžija's Ulysses Theatre Company's production of
Euripides' Medea. She occasionally writes a column for the Croatian
magazine Feral Tribune.
Personal life
Furlan's husband is director Goran Gajić, who has directed her in an
episode of Babylon 5 and several plays, including a production of
Sophocles' Antigone.
In late 1991, she and her husband emigrated from Yugoslavia to escape
the political turmoil and ethnic tensions which accompanied the
breakup of the country - she was born in Zagreb of mixed ethnic
origin, her husband is an ethnic Serb.
On 15 December 1998, Furlan gave birth to the couple's first child,
Marko Lav Gajić.
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