After 30 years in hiding, this 1950s screen siren just stunned Hollywood at 92
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Kim Novak has stepped back into the spotlight more than three decades after leaving Hollywood behind.
The 92-year-old actress received a standing ovation as she accepted the Golden Lion For Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival.
Her rare appearance brought both nostalgia and fresh intrigue to the Golden Age icon’s remarkable story.
Novak rose to stardom in the 1950s with leading roles in Picnic, The Man with the Golden Arm and Pal Joey.
Her breakthrough came with Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 classic Vertigo, which cemented her place in cinema history.
Onstage in Venice, she described the recognition as a ‘dream come true’ and said she was grateful to be honoured ‘for my body of work at this time in my life’.
The actress, dressed in a black gown and emerald-green shawl, has long distanced herself from the industry after her difficult final film, Liebestraum, in 1991.
She later revealed that on-set clashes with director Mike Figgis left her disillusioned, saying in 2004: ‘I got so burned out on that picture that I wanted to leave the business.’
Reflecting on her career, she added: ‘The making of a movie is wonderful. What’s difficult is afterwards when you have to go around and try to sell it. The actual filming, when you have a good script—which isn’t often—nothing beats it.’
Source: Youtube/scs75
Her return coincided with the debut of a new documentary, Kim Novak’s Vertigo, which traces her rapid rise, her iconic role in Hitchcock’s thriller and her current life as a painter in Oregon.
‘It’s not easy getting old,’ Novak says in the opening scene. ‘I’m feeling it’s close to the end. I’ve been feeling the need to free something …’
Away from the red carpet, Novak shared her concerns about an upcoming biopic titled Scandalous!, which is set to star Sydney Sweeney as a young Novak opposite British actor David Jonsson.
The film will explore her relationship with entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. in the 1950s, which ended after Columbia Pictures boss Henry Cohn reportedly intervened over fears their interracial romance could damage the studio’s reputation.
Novak told the Guardian: ‘I don’t think the relationship was scandalous. He’s somebody I really cared about. We had so much in common, including that need to be accepted for who we are and what we do, rather than how we look. But I’m concerned they’re going to make it all sexual reasons.’
Davis Jr. died of throat cancer in 1990, but their story continues to spark fascination more than 60 years later.
Meanwhile, Sweeney has already begun channelling Novak’s glamour at major events, donning a sparkling black gown at the Met Gala in a nod to the star’s 1967 film The Legend of Lylah Clare.
Directed by Colman Domingo, the project has yet to begin filming but is already attracting international attention.
Just as Kim Novak has re-emerged after decades away, other stars have also surprised fans by taking unexpected turns later in life.
These moments remind us that stepping back doesn’t always mean the end—it can mark the beginning of a new chapter.
One recent example comes from another Hollywood favourite who stunned audiences with a career decision no one saw coming.
Read more: Hollywood icon stuns fans with unexpected career move
Even in her nineties, Kim Novak’s story continues to raise the question—what does it truly mean to be remembered?
The 92-year-old actress received a standing ovation as she accepted the Golden Lion For Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival.
Her rare appearance brought both nostalgia and fresh intrigue to the Golden Age icon’s remarkable story.
Novak rose to stardom in the 1950s with leading roles in Picnic, The Man with the Golden Arm and Pal Joey.
Her breakthrough came with Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 classic Vertigo, which cemented her place in cinema history.
Onstage in Venice, she described the recognition as a ‘dream come true’ and said she was grateful to be honoured ‘for my body of work at this time in my life’.
Kim Novak honoured with lifetime achievement award. Image source: Youtube/The Sunny Mango
The actress, dressed in a black gown and emerald-green shawl, has long distanced herself from the industry after her difficult final film, Liebestraum, in 1991.
She later revealed that on-set clashes with director Mike Figgis left her disillusioned, saying in 2004: ‘I got so burned out on that picture that I wanted to leave the business.’
Reflecting on her career, she added: ‘The making of a movie is wonderful. What’s difficult is afterwards when you have to go around and try to sell it. The actual filming, when you have a good script—which isn’t often—nothing beats it.’
Source: Youtube/scs75
Her return coincided with the debut of a new documentary, Kim Novak’s Vertigo, which traces her rapid rise, her iconic role in Hitchcock’s thriller and her current life as a painter in Oregon.
‘It’s not easy getting old,’ Novak says in the opening scene. ‘I’m feeling it’s close to the end. I’ve been feeling the need to free something …’
Away from the red carpet, Novak shared her concerns about an upcoming biopic titled Scandalous!, which is set to star Sydney Sweeney as a young Novak opposite British actor David Jonsson.
The film will explore her relationship with entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. in the 1950s, which ended after Columbia Pictures boss Henry Cohn reportedly intervened over fears their interracial romance could damage the studio’s reputation.
Novak told the Guardian: ‘I don’t think the relationship was scandalous. He’s somebody I really cared about. We had so much in common, including that need to be accepted for who we are and what we do, rather than how we look. But I’m concerned they’re going to make it all sexual reasons.’
Davis Jr. died of throat cancer in 1990, but their story continues to spark fascination more than 60 years later.
Meanwhile, Sweeney has already begun channelling Novak’s glamour at major events, donning a sparkling black gown at the Met Gala in a nod to the star’s 1967 film The Legend of Lylah Clare.
Directed by Colman Domingo, the project has yet to begin filming but is already attracting international attention.
Just as Kim Novak has re-emerged after decades away, other stars have also surprised fans by taking unexpected turns later in life.
These moments remind us that stepping back doesn’t always mean the end—it can mark the beginning of a new chapter.
One recent example comes from another Hollywood favourite who stunned audiences with a career decision no one saw coming.
Read more: Hollywood icon stuns fans with unexpected career move
Even in her nineties, Kim Novak’s story continues to raise the question—what does it truly mean to be remembered?
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She’s definately been under the knife she looks like the cat woman who died recently.She looks yuk
