Broadway and Film Star Taina Elg Passes Away at 95

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report the passing of actress, dancer, and Broadway performer Taina Elg, who passed away earlier this month in a care facility in Helsinki, Finland. She was 95 years old.

Following a career overseas, she came to the United States in the 1950s, signing a contract with MGM. Her first Hollywood credit came in 1955 with The Prodigal, a biblical episode led by Lana Turner. Only two years later, she would win the Foreign Newcomer Golden Globe, followed by a Best Actress Golden Globe for her performance in Cole Porter's Les Girls, a musical comedy featuring Gene Kelly and Mitzi Gaynor.

After appearing in a selection of other titles in the 1950s and '60s, she began her Broadway career in 1970 with Jule Styne's musical Look to the Lillies, which starred Shirley Booth. Other stage credits include 1973's Uncle Vanya, the 1974 revival of Where's Charley? (for which she was nominated for a Tony Award), The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall, and the original production of the musical Nine as Guido's Mother. In the late 1990s, she appeared in the national tour of Titanic and was the standby for Frau Schneider in the 1998 revival of Cabaret. This would serve as her final Broadway role.