Nina Vanna
Nina Kind Hakim Provatoroff, known by her stage name of Nina Vanna (Yazykova; 27 September 1899 – 8 November 1953), was a Russian-born British film actress who appeared in a number of silent films during the 1920s. She sometimes played in historical dramas, playing Lady Jane Grey in the first of three film versions of her life (Lady Jane Grey; Or, the Court of Intrigue) and Lucrezia Borgia in what may be the first of several versions. Vanna was married three times, first to Robert Kind from whom she was later divorced, secondly to film director Eric Hakim (1900–1967), whom she also divorced, and finally to an importer/exporter and art collector Peter Provatoroff from 1946 until her death in Banstead, Surrey, UK.
Also recorded as Nina Yazykova Kind Hakim Provatoroff · Nina Kind Hakim Provatoroff
Nina Vanna

The poster from the film "The Man Without Desire". The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist. · Public domain
- Name
- Nina Vanna
- Birth Name
- Nina Yazykova
- Born
- 27 September 1899
- Birthplace
- Minsk, Belarus
- Died
- 8 November 1953
- Place of death
- Battle, East Sussex, England, UK
- Occupation
- Actress
- Nationality
- United Kingdom · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland · Russian Empire
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
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wikidata · Q4984275 · wikipedia · Nina Vanna
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Nina Vanna • Birth Name — Nina Yazykova • Born — 27 September 1899 • Birthplace — Minsk, Belarus • Died — 8 November 1953 • Place of death — Battle, East Sussex, England, UK • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1923–1937
Career
Career
Vanna began her film career in England where she made her debut in Scrooge (1923) as Alice. In the next years followed her leading roles in films, among them A Christmas Carol (1923), Lucrezia Borgia; Or, Plaything of Power (1923), Lady Jane Grey in Lady Jane Grey; Or, The Court of Intrigue (1923), The Man Without Desire (1923), The Cost of Beauty (1924) and The Woman Tempted (1926). Just before beginning of filming of The Man Without Desire, in which the actress played a young socialite, she was persuaded by Ivor Novello, appearing as a Venetian aristocrat, to change her name to "something that sounded less emetic". She extended her career to France, Germany and Austria from 1924 with the new films La closerie des Genets (1924), Veille d'armes (1925), Männer vor der Ehe (1927), Café Elektric (1927), Die raffinierteste Frau Berlins (1927), A Murderous Girl (1927), Youth Astray (original title: Was die Kinder ihren Eltern verschweigen, 1927), Was weisst Du von der Liebe/Gefährdete Mädchen (1927), La vie miraculeuse de Thérèse Martin (1930). After a longer pause followed her first and last sound film at the same time with The Show Goes On (1937). Other movies included Love in an Attic (1923) The School for Scandal (1923), Guy Fawkes (1923), The Money Habit (1924), We Women (1925), Before the Battle (1925), Graziella (1926), The Triumph of the Rat (1926), and Adventure Mad (1926).
Selected filmography
Selected filmography
• The Man Without Desire (1923) • Guy Fawkes (1923) • The Cost of Beauty (1924) • The Money Habit (1924) • We Women (1925) • The Triumph of the Rat (1926) • Three Cuckoo Clocks (1926) • Graziella (1926) • Men Before Marriage (1927) • A Murderous Girl (1927) • Café Elektric (1927) • Endangered Girls (1927) • The Show Goes On (1937)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1899
Nina Vanna born at Minsk.
1953
Nina Vanna died at Battle.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Minsk.
Birth place
Battle.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Nina Vanna, revision 1238129175 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.England & Wales, Death Index: 1916–2005
- 2.Taylor, Tobi Lopez. Orzel: Scottsdale's Legendary Arabian Stallion. Arcadia Publishing. 2016-01-18. 9781625854964.
- 3.Find-a-grave entry
- 4.BFI Film and TV Database: Hakim, Eric.
- 5.England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916–2005
- 6.Kramer, Kaley A. Women During the English Reformations: Renegotiating Gender and Religious Identity. Springer. 2014-11-19. 9781137465672.
- 7.Brunel, Adrian. Nice Work: The Story of Thirty Years in British Film Production. Forbes Robertson. 1 January 1949.
- 8.Portrait of the actress Nina Vanna by Thomas Staedeli. www.cyranos.ch.
- 9.Parrill, Sue. The Tudors on Film and Television. McFarland. 26 February 2013. 9780786458912.
- 10.Room, Adrian. Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. 1 July 2010. 9780786457632.
- 11.Schaefer, Eric. "Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!": A History of Exploitation Films, 1919-1959. Duke University Press. 1 January 1999. 0822323745.
- 12.Vasilʹev, Aleksandr. Beauty in Exile: The Artists, Models, and Nobility who Fled the Russian Revolution and Influenced the World of Fashion. Harry N. Abrams. 1 November 2000. 9780810957015.
- 13.Gifford, Denis. British Film Catalogue: Two Volume Set - The Fiction Film/The Non-Fiction Film. Routledge. 1 April 2016. 9781317740636.
- 14.Paietta, Ann C. Saints, Clergy and Other Religious Figures on Film and Television, 1895-2003. McFarland. 1 July 2005. 9781476610160.
- 15.Morgan, Charles. Dramatic Critic: Selected Reviews (1922-1939). Oberon Books. 31 May 2013. 9781849439411.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
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Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
The authorities additionally record the headings Nina Yazykova Kind Hakim Provatoroff and Nina Kind Hakim Provatoroff. Her recorded language was English. Recorded as actress.
Identity and origins
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 28 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
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