Biography

Madama Ganna Walska was born on June 24, 1887 in Poland. She was an actress, known for The Child of Destiny (1916). She was married to Harold McCormick, Theos Bernard and Doctor Fraenkel. She died on March 2, 1984 in Santa Barbara, California, USA.

She was a patron of the designer Erté.

An (allegedly terrible) opera singer. Orson Welles claimed that the character of Susan Alexander in Citizen Kane (1941) was partly inspired by her heavily promoted, but unsuccessful, singing career.

She was the creator of the non-profit botanical garden Lotusland in Montecito, California.

Musical studies in Kyiv.

Operas:

• "The Merry Widow" (Kyiv)
• "Mam'zelle Nitouche" (New York Century Theater, 1915)
• "Zaza" (Chicago Opera, 1920)
• "Rigoletto' (Paris, 1923).