Kim Novak, the unforgettable star of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, officially retired from the screen in the early 1990s. But this summer, she will ret
Kim Novak, the unforgettable star of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, officially retired from the screen in the early 1990s. But this summer, she will return to the spotlight to receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. “I am deeply, deeply touched to receive the prestigious Golden Lion award from such an enormously respected film festival. To be recognized for my body of work at this time in my life is a dream come true. I will treasure every moment I spend in Venice. It will fill my heart with joy,” said the now 92-year-old actor, who now lives on a ranch in Oregon.
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The award, approved by the Biennale’s board of directors at the suggestion of Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera, celebrates a star who was able to transform her vulnerability into imaginative strength, establishing herself as a pioneer of female autonomy at a time when achieving that in Hollywood was nearly impossible. Marilyn Pauline Novak—renamed Kim by Columbia Pictures in order to avoid any confusion with Marilyn Monroe—was anything but a product of the star system. Though Columbia boss Harry Cohn asked her to conform to the era’s standards of beauty and docility, Novak exuded intelligence, courage, and talent.
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She agreed to dye her hair platinum blond but demanded to keep her own last name. She founded a production company in 1958, a time when women rarely sat behind producers desks. She chose roles carefully, protesting to get wages that equaled those of her male colleagues. And she decided to leave Hollywood on her own terms. Her most iconic role is, of course, the mysterious Madeleine in Hitchcock’s Vertigo, cited by the British Film Institute and numerous international polls as the best film of all time. Naturally, director Alexandre Philippe’s documentary Kim Novak’s Vertigo, made with the exclusive collaboration of the actor, will be presented at the Venice Film Festival this year as well.
Original story in VF Italia.
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