Anna Sten (born Anna Petrovna Fesak or Fisakova; December 3, 1908 – November 12, 1993) was a Ukrainian-born Russian-American actress. She began her career in stage plays and films in the Soviet Union, then traveled to Germany, where she starred in several films. Her performances were noticed by film producer Samuel Goldwyn, who brought her to the United States with the aim of creating a screen personality to rival Greta Garbo. After a few unsuccessful films, Goldwyn released her from her contract. She continued to act occasionally until her final film appearance in 1962.
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Early life and education
Sten was born on December 3, 1908, in Kiev in the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine). According to her own words, she was born on June 29, 1908. There are other sources that say she was born in 1910. Her father was a ballet master of Ukrainian Cossack descent, and her Swedish-born mother a ballerina. Some sources say her father died during the First World War and Anna worked to support her mother, while according to other sources, her father survived the war, found his daughter, and toured Russia with his circus troupe. In her own words, she adopted her mother's maiden name; according to the children of her friends, her birth name was Anna Petrovna Fisakova.
In most foreign sources, her maiden names are Stenska and Sudakevich, or a combination thereof (such as a common variant Anel [Anyushka] Stenska-Sudakevich or Annel [Anjuschka] Stenskaja Sudakewitsch), which is why Sten has been mistakenly identified with the Russian actress Anel Sudakevich, who starred in Soviet cinema at the same time and with some of the same directors as Anna Sten.
