Editing Helena Modjeska

{{Short description|Polish-American actress (1840–1909)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}<!--Rationale: most of her professional career was in the US.-->
{{Infobox person
| image = Helena Modjeska ca. 1890 by Sarony (Gardner Mus ARC006444) - crop.jpg
| caption = Helena Modjeska, {{circa|1890}}
| birthname = Jadwiga Benda<br />(''baptized'' Helena Opid)
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1840|10|12}}
| birth_place  = [[Kraków]], [[Free City of Cracow]]
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1909|4|8|1840|10|12}}
| death_place  = [[Newport Beach, California]], U.S.
| occupation   = Actress
| years_active = 1861–1907
| spouses      = {{marriage|Gustav Modrzejewski|1861|1868|end=divorced}}<br>{{marriage|Count Karol Bozenta Chłapowski|1868}}
| children     = 2, including [[Ralph Modjeski|Ralph]]
| relatives    = [[Władysław T. Benda]] (nephew)
| signature    = Appletons' Modjeska Helena signature.png
}}
'''Helena Modrzejewska''' ({{IPA|pl|mɔdʐɛˈjɛfska|lang}}; born '''Jadwiga Helena Mizel'''; October 12, 1840 – April 8, 1909), known professionally in the [[United States]] as '''Helena Modjeska''', was a Polish-American actress who specialized in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearean]] and tragic roles. 

She was successful first on the Polish stage. After emigrating to the United States (and despite her poor command of English), she also succeeded on stage in America and London. She is regarded as the greatest actress in the [[Theater in Poland|history of theatre in Poland]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/;3942578 |language = pl |title=Helena Modrzejewska | access-date = 8 November 2021}}</ref> She was also a member of the [[Pacific Coast Women's Press Association]] and was mother of a prominent Polish-American engineer [[Ralph Modjeski]].

==Early life==
Helena Modjeska was born in [[Free City of Kraków|Kraków, Poland]], on 12 October 1840.{{sfn |Shattuck |1987 |p=126}}{{sfn |Modjeska |1910 |p=15}} Her birth name was recorded as Jadwiga Benda, but she was later baptized Helena Opid.{{sfn |Shattuck |1987 |p=126}}

The question of Helena  Modjeska’s paternity and identity has been a subject of controversy and myths from the very beginning, often perpetuated by  Modjeska herself. Helena’s mother was Józefa Benda, née Mizel. Her parents were Karol Mizel (Müzel) and Katarzyna Golc (Goltz), both of whom came from German mining families that arrived at the end of the 18th century to work in the mines in [[Szczakowa]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Orzechowski |first=Emil |date=2017 |title=Helena Modrzejewska |url=https://encyklopediateatru.pl/osoby/41524/helena-modrzejewska |website=Encyklopedia Teatru Polskiego}}</ref> Józefa was born in [[Swoszowice,_Kraków#Subdivisions_of_Swoszowice|Wróblowice]], lost her father at an early age, and was taken in by the Radwański family, the owners of the nearby [[Swoszowice, Kraków|Swoszowice]] estate. They provided her with an education, brought her to Kraków, and arranged her marriage to Szymon Benda in 1824.<ref name=":0" />

Szymon Benda and Józefa had three sons: Józef Szymon, Jan Szymon, and {{Ill|Feliks Benda|lt=Feliks Filip|pl}}. Benda passed away in 1835 at the age of 63, leaving his wife and sons a substantial estate, including two interconnected tenement houses at the corner of Grodzka and Szeroka Streets (now Dominikański Square).<ref name=":0" /> A few years after his death, Józefa became involved with a municipial clerk, Michał Opid, an admirer of music and classical literature, who was married to Anna Krzyczkiewicz. From this marriage, he had a son Adolf.<ref name=":0" /> From the relationship between Józefa Mizel and Michał Opid, Helena was born in 1838, followed by her younger sister, Józefa Michalina, in 1842.<ref name=":0" /> Adolf Opid was two years older than Helena and the closest to her among all the siblings.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:Helena Modrzejewska 1865 Kraków.jpg|thumb|Modjeska as Queen [[Barbara Radziwiłł]], 1865]]

For a long time, a popular rumor suggested that  Modjeska's father was Prince [[Władysław Hieronim Sanguszko]]—a hero of the [[November Uprising]] and a wealthy landowner. The basis of this speculation was likely the resemblance in appearance and life paths between Modjeska and Sanguszko’s acknowledged daughter, also {{Ill|Helena Sanguszko|lt=Helena|pl|Helena Sanguszkówna}}, who was also an actress, renowned for both her beauty and scandalous lifestyle.<ref name=":0" />

Michał Opid died around 1845, when Helena was 5 years old. The tenement in which she and her family lived burned down in the great fire of Kraków in 1850, which could not be rebuilt. The family moved into the flat of Dr Schanzer, father of the actress Marie von Bülow, and Helena and her sister Józefina were sent to the school of the Presentation Sisters. In 1850 or 1851, the sisters began to take private German lessons from G Gustaw Zimajer, an actor, who fostered in Helena the interest in theatre that had been awakened by her brothers, especially Feliks.<ref name=":0" />

Also glossed over in Modjeska's autobiography were the details concerning her first marriage, to her former guardian, Gustave Sinnmayer (Polish: Gustaw Zimajer). Gustave was an actor and the director of a second-rate provincial theater troupe.{{sfn|Osnes|2001|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}} The date of Modjeska's marriage to Gustave is uncertain. She discovered many years later that they had not been legally married, because he was still married to his first wife when they wed.{{sfn |Shattuck |1987 |pp=126, 317}} Together the couple had two children, a son Rudolf (later renamed [[Ralph Modjeski]]), and a daughter Marylka, who died in infancy.{{sfn |Modjeska |1910 |p=114}}

Gustaw Zimajer used the stage name "Gustaw Modrzejewski."<ref>The surname "Modrzejewski" likely derives from "''modrzew''," which is Polish for "[[larch]]."</ref> It was the feminine form of this name that Modjeska adopted when she made her stage debut in 1861 as Helena Modrzejewska.{{sfn |Wilmeth |Miller |1996 |p=263.}} Later, when acting abroad, she simplified  her name to "Modjeska", which was easier for English-speaking audiences to pronounce.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-9330293 Encyclopedia – Britannica Online Encyclopedia<!-- Bot-generated title -->] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316054314/http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-9330293|date=2006-03-16}} at www.britannica.com</ref>
[[Image:Helena Modrzejewska jako Adam Kazanowski 1867 (96686957) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Modrzejewska as [[Adam Kazanowski]] in ''The Court of Prince Władysław'', 1867]]
In her early Polish acting career, Modrzejewska played at [[Bochnia]], [[Nowy Sącz]], [[Przemyśl]], [[Rzeszów]] and [[Brzeżany]]. In 1862 she appeared for the first time in [[Lwów]], playing in her first Romantic drama, as "Skierka" in [[Juliusz Słowacki]]'s ''[[Balladyna (drama)|Balladyna]]''. From 1863 she appeared at [[Ivano-Frankivsk|Stanisławów]] and [[Czerniowce]], in plays by Słowacki.

In 1865 Zimajer tried to get her a contract with [[Vienna|Viennese]] theaters, but the plan came to naught due to her poor knowledge of the [[German language]]. Later that year Helena left Zimajer, taking their son Rudolf, and returning to Kraków.<ref>{{cite book|title= Helena Modjeska|publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica Online|year= 2009|access-date= 19 February 2009|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/387379/Helena-Modjeska|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090810003520/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/387379/Helena-Modjeska|archive-date= 2009-08-10|url-status= live}}</ref> Once there she accepted a four-year theatrical engagement. In 1868 she began appearing in [[Warsaw]]; during her eight years there, she consolidated her status as a theater star. Her half-brothers Józef and Feliks Benda were also well-regarded actors in Poland.

One incident illustrates the restrictions of nineteenth century Polish society. At one of Modrzejewska's Warsaw performances, seventeen secondary-school pupils presented her with a bouquet of flowers tied with a ribbon in the red-and-white Polish national colors. The pupils were accused by the [[Russian Empire|Russian Imperial]] authorities of conducting a [[History of Poland (1795–1918)#The time of "Organic Work"|patriotic]] demonstration. They were expelled from their school and banned from admission to any other school. One of the pupils, Ignacy Neufeld, subsequently shot himself; Modrzejewska attended his funeral.<ref>Information from [[:pl:Helena Modrzejewska|the Polish Wikipedia article]], edition of 19:53, 25 January 2009.</ref>

==Chłapowski==
On September 12, 1868, Modjeska married a Polish nobleman, Karol Bożenta Chłapowski.{{sfn |Shattuck |1987 |p=126}}{{sfn |Modjeska |1910 |p=154}} Best known in America as "Count Bozenta," he was not a [[count]]. His family belonged to the untitled landed gentry (''[[ziemiaństwo]]''). In the [[United States]] he adopted the stage name "Count Bozenta" as a ploy to gain publicity. "Bozenta" was easier for an English-speaking audience to pronounce than "Chłapowski."{{sfn |Modjeska |1910 |p=346}}

At the time of their marriage, Chłapowski was employed as the editor of a liberal nationalist newspaper, ''Kraj'' (The Country), which was owned by Adam [[Sapieha]] and a Mr. Sammelson.{{sfn |Modjeska |1910 |p=174}} Modjeska wrote that their home "became the center of the artistic and literary world [of Kraków]." Poets, authors, politicians, artists, composers and other actors frequented Modjeska's [[salon (gathering)|salon]].{{sfn |Modjeska |1910 |p=174}}

==Immigration==
[[File:Modrzejewska Camille.jpg|thumb|Modrzejewska in [[Alexandre Dumas, fils]]', ''[[The Lady of the Camellias|Camille]]'', 1878]]
In July 1876, after spending more than a decade as the reigning diva of the Polish national theater, for reasons both personal and political, Modjeska and her husband chose to immigrate to the United States.{{sfn |Modjeska |1910 |p=257}}

{{blockquote|My husband's only desire was to take me away from my surroundings and give me perfect rest from my work ... Our friends used to talk about the new country, the new life, new scenery, and the possibility of settling down somewhere in the land of freedom, away from the daily vexations to which each Pole was exposed in Russian or Prussian Poland. [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]] was the first to advocate emigration. Little by little others followed him, and soon five of them expressed the desire to seek adventures in the jungles of the virgin land.

My husband, seeing the eagerness of the young men, conceived the idea of forming a colony in California on the model of the [[Brook Farm]]. The project was received with acclamation.{{sfn |Modjeska |1910 |p=249}}}}

Once in America, Modjeska and her husband purchased a [[Pioneer House of the Mother Colony|ranch]] near [[Anaheim, California]]. [[Sypniewski#California links|Julian Sypniewski]], Łucjan Paprowski, and [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]] (winner of the [[Nobel Prize for literature]] in 1905), were among the friends who had accompanied them to California. It was during this period that Sienkiewicz wrote his ''Charcoal Sketches (Szkice węglem).'' Originally the artists [[Stanisław Witkiewicz]] (father of [[Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz]]) and [[Adam Chmielowski]] (the future [[Adam Chmielowski|St. Albert]]) were also to have come with Modjeska's group, but they changed their plans. She was a member of the [[Pacific Coast Women's Press Association]].

Modjeska intended to abandon her career and envisioned herself living "a life of toil under the blue skies of California, among the hills, riding on horseback with a gun over my shoulder."{{sfn |Modjeska |1910 |p=249}} The reality proved less cinematic. None of the colonists knew the first thing about ranching or farming, and they could barely speak English.{{sfn |Modjeska |1910 |p=250}} The utopian experiment failed, the colonists went their separate ways, and Modjeska returned to the stage, reprising the [[Shakespeare]]an roles that she had performed in Poland.{{sfn |Shattuck |1987 |p=126}}{{sfn|Obst|2000}} Perhaps the best account of daily life on the ranch is [[Theodore Payne]]'s memoir, ''Life on the Modjeska Ranch in the Gay Nineties''.

==American career==
[[File:Helena Modrzejewska by Melecjusz Dutkiewicz (cropped).jpg|thumb|Modjeska, {{circa|1879}}]]
[[File:Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz - Portrait of Helena Modrzejewska - MNK II-a-20 - National Museum Kraków.jpg|thumb|''Helena Modrzejewska''. Portrait by [[Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz]], 1880.]]
On 20 August 1877, Modjeska debuted at the [[California Theatre (San Francisco)|California Theatre]] in San Francisco in an English version of [[Ernest Legouvé]]'s ''[[Adrienne Lecouvreur (play)|Adrienne Lecouvreur]]''. She was seen by theatrical agent [[Harry J Sargent (Theatre manager)|Harry J. Sargent]] who signed her for a tour on the east coast where she made her New York debut.{{sfn |Modjeska |1910 |p=336}}<ref>''San Francisco Chronicle'' (October 17, 2010) "Modjeska – Woman Triuimphant"</ref> She then spent three years abroad (1879–82), mainly in London, attempting to improve her English, before returning to the stage in America.{{sfn |Shattuck |1987 |p=128}} In 1880, she visited the [[The Lizard|Lizard Peninsula]] in Cornwall and on hearing that the parish church of [[Ruan Minor]] was in need of an organ she collaborated with [[Johnston Forbes-Robertson|Mr J Forbes-Robertson]] to put on a performance. ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' was performed on a temporary stage in the vicarage garden and watched by many local people. A resident of [[Penzance]] and soon-to-be member of parliament for the [[St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)|St Ives constituency]], [[Charles Campbell Ross]], played the part of [[Friar Laurence]].{{sfn |Cornish Weekly Newspapers |1880 |p=5}}

Despite her accent and imperfect command of English, she achieved great success.<ref>"Modjeska, Helena," ''[[Encyclopedia Americana]]'', 1986 ed., vol. 19, p. 313.</ref> During her career, she played nine Shakespearean heroines, Marguerite Gautier in ''[[The Lady of the Camellias|Camille]]'', and [[Schiller]]'s ''[[Maria Stuart (play)|Maria Stuart]]''. In 1883, the year she obtained American citizenship, she produced [[Henrik Ibsen]]'s ''[[A Doll's House]]'' in Louisville, Kentucky, the first Ibsen play staged in the United States. In the 1880s and 1890s, she had a reputation as the leading female interpreter of Shakespeare on the American stage.{{sfn |Shattuck |1987 |p=127}}

In 1893, Modjeska was invited to speak to a women's conference at the [[World Columbian Exposition|Chicago World's Fair]], and described the situation of Polish women in the Russian and [[Prussia]]n-ruled parts of dismembered Poland. This led to a [[Russian Empire|tsarist]] ban on her traveling in Russian territory.{{sfn |Modjeska |1910 |p=518}}

Modjeska suffered a stroke and was partially paralyzed in 1897, but recovered and soon returned to the stage, continuing to perform for several additional years.{{sfn|Bordman|Hischak|2004|p={{page needed|date=October 2021}}}}

During her last stay in Poland, from 31 October 1902 to 28 April 1903, she appeared on the stage in Lwów, Poznań, and her native Kraków.

On 2 May 1905, she gave a jubilee performance in New York City. Then she toured for two years and ended her acting career, afterward only appearing sporadically in support of charitable causes.

Modjeska died at Newport Beach, California on 8 April 1909, aged 68, from  [[Bright's disease]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.modjeskawomantriumphantmovie.com/|title=Modjeska Woman Triumphant|website=www.modjeskawomantriumphantmovie.com|access-date=2010-04-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206005840/http://www.modjeskawomantriumphantmovie.com/|archive-date=2010-02-06|url-status=live}}</ref> Her remains were sent to Kraków to be buried in the family plot at the [[Rakowicki Cemetery]].

Her autobiography ''Memories and Impressions of Helena Modjeska'' was published posthumously in 1910. A Polish translation ran the same year in the Kraków newspaper ''Czas'' (Time). The last Polish edition of the book appeared in 1957.

Modrzejewska's son, Rudolf Modrzejewski ([[Ralph Modjeski]]), was a civil engineer who gained fame as a designer of bridges.{{sfn|Obst|2000}}{{sfn|Lerski |Wróbel|Kozicizi|1996|p=361}}

==Legacies==
[[Image:MadamModeska.JPG|thumb|Modjeska in her garden at Arden in [[Modjeska Canyon]], California<ref>{{cite journal |last=Inkersley |first=Arthur |author-link=Arthur Inkersley |date=February 1911 |title=Modjeska's Life in California |journal=Overland Monthly |volume=LVII |issue=2 |pages=178–185 }}</ref>]]
[[Modjeska House|Arden]], Modjeska's home from 1888 to 1906, is a registered [[National Historic Landmark]].

Named for her are:
* Modjeska Park in Anaheim, California (33°48'53"N   117°57'8"W)
* Helene Street in Anaheim, California
* [[Modjeska Canyon, California]] (where Arden is located)
* Modjeska Falls, California, at the Glen Alpine Springs Resort
* [[Modjeska Peak]] (the north peak of [[Saddleback (Orange County, California)|Saddleback Mountain]]).
* Bouquet Helena Modjeska by American perfumer [[John Blocki]] of Prussian and Polish descent
* [[Modjeska (confection)|Modjeska]]s, a caramel-covered marshmallow confection invented in 1889 by a local candy-maker named Anton Busath (and later made by other candy-makers, including Bauer's Candies, Muth's Candies and [[Schimpff's Confectionery]]) in her honor when she visited Louisville, Kentucky.
* A street in [[Wrocław]], formerly named after the German actress [[Agnes Sorma]] when the city was part of Germany as Breslau.
* [[Modjeska Youth Theater Company]] in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
* A Pullman car, the Helena Modjeska, was named for her.
* SS Helena Modjeska, a 7,000 ton US cargo steamer that ran aground on [[Goodwin Sands]] in 1946.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ramsgatehistory.com/forum/index.php?topic=696.0|title=SS Helena Modjeska|website=www.ramsgatehistory.com|access-date=2016-11-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161125050057/http://www.ramsgatehistory.com/forum/index.php?topic=696.0|archive-date=2016-11-25|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A statue of Modjeska is located outside the Pearson Park Amphitheater in Anaheim, California.

Modjeska was the mother of bridge engineer [[Ralph Modjeski]] and godmother to artist-author-philosopher [[Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz]] (son of artist [[Stanisław Witkiewicz]], who almost accompanied Modjeska and her family to California in 1876). She was also the aunt of artist [[Władysław T. Benda]].

She was godmother to American actress [[Ethel Barrymore]].

==Roles==
[[File:Helena Modrzejewska jako Maria Stuart 1867-1868 (96686958) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Modjeska as [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], in  ''Maria Stuart'', 1867/1868]]

Modjeska's chief tragic roles were:
* [[William Shakespeare]]:
** [[Ophelia (character)|Ophelia]] in ''[[Hamlet]]''
** [[Juliet]] in ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''
** [[Desdemona (Othello)|Desdemona]] in ''[[Othello]]''
** [[Lady Anne Neville|Queen Anne]] in ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]''
* Nora in [[Henrik Ibsen]]'s ''[[A Doll's House]]''
* Luisa Miller in [[Salvadore Cammarano]]'s [[Luisa Miller]]
* [[Friedrich Schiller]]'s ''[[Maria Stuart (play)|Maria Stuart]]'' and ''[[Princess Eboli]]''
* [[Marion Delorme]] in [[Victor Hugo]]'s ''[[Marion Delorme (Hugo)|Marion Delorme]]''
* [[Victor Hugo]]'s ''Tisbé''
* [[Juliusz Słowacki]]'s ''Maria Stuart'' and ''Mazeppa''

Modrzejewska was also the [[Polish language|Polish]] interpreter of the more prominent plays by [[Ernest Legouvé]], [[Alexandre Dumas, père]] and [[Alexandre Dumas, fils|fils]], [[Émile Augier]], [[Alfred de Musset]], [[Octave Feuillet]] and [[Victorien Sardou]].

Her favorite comedy rôles were Beatrice in [[Much Ado About Nothing]], and Donna Diana in the Polish translation of an old Spanish play of that name.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Modjeska, Helena |volume=18 |page=642}}</ref>

==In literature==
[[Susan Sontag]]'s award-winning 1999 novel ''[[In America (Sontag)|In America]]'', though fiction, is based on Modjeska's life.<ref>[[Susan Sontag]], ''In America: A Novel'', introduction, New York, 1999.</ref> The book precipitated a controversy when Sontag was accused of having plagiarized other works about Modjeska.<ref>Doreen Carvajal, 27 May 2002. [http://partners.nytimes.com/library/books/052700sontag-america.html "So Whose Words Are They? Susan Sontag Creates a Stir."] ''New York Times Book Review''.</ref>

Modjeska was a character in the novella ''[[My Mortal Enemy]]'' by [[Willa Cather]].

Scholars Joanna and Catharina Polatynska have posited that Modjeska might have been [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s model for the character [[Irene Adler]], the only woman that [[Sherlock Holmes]] came close to loving. In "[[A Scandal in Bohemia]]", Doyle mentions Adler having been prima donna of the fictional Imperial Opera of Warsaw in the same years when Modjeska was at the peak of her theatrical career in Warsaw, and the fictional character's personality recalls that of the actual actress.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diogenes-club.com/irene.htm|title=The Diogenes Club: A Few Words about Theatres in Warsaw or Where Sang Irene Adler|first=Quintessential|last=WebDesign|website=www.diogenes-club.com|access-date=2009-08-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100224073147/http://www.diogenes-club.com/irene.htm|archive-date=2010-02-24|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Death anniversary==
In 2009, in honor of the 100th anniversary of her death, the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków presented the exhibition "Helena Modjeska (1840–1909): For the Love of Art" (8 April – 20 September 2009). The Warsaw staging of the same exhibition ran from October 2009 through January 2010.<ref>Malgorzata Palka (translator: Piotr Krasnowolski), exhibition notes: ''Helena Modjeska (1840–1909): For the Love of Art''. Muezeum Histoyczne Miasta Krakowa and Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera in Warsaw.</ref> The exhibition included items from the [[Bowers Museum]] in Santa Ana, California.

===Google Doodle===
To commemorate the 181st anniversary of her birth on 12 October 2021, a [[Google Doodle]] paid homage to Modjeska.

==See also==
*[[Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theater in Kraków]]
*[[Legitimacy (family law)#Notable people|Legitimacy]]
*[[List of Poles#Entertainment|List of Poles]]
*''[[Starring Madame Modjeska]]''

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
*{{cite encyclopedia <!-- Citation bot bypass--> |last=Bordman |first=Gerald |author1-link=Gerald Bordman |first2=Thomas S |last2=Hischak |title=Modjeska, Helena (1840–1909) [Opid] |encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to American Theatre |publisher=Oxford University Press |edition=3rd |publication-place=New York; Oxford |year=2004 |isbn=978-0199916474 |oclc=4811171430 |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195169867.013.2157 <!-- DOI malfunctioning at time of addition; have reported it.--> |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195169867.001.0001/acref-9780195169867-e-2157 |url-access=subscription}}
*{{cite book |last=Coleman |first=Marion Moore |title=Fair Rosalind: the American career of Helena Modjeska |location=Cheshire, CT |publisher=Cherry Hill Books |year=1969 |orig-year=1961 |oclc=586268615 |url=https://archive.org/details/fairrosalindamer00cole |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}
*{{cite book |last=Collins |first=Mabel |author-link=Mabel Collins |title=The Story of Helena Modjeska, (Madame Chlapowska) |publisher=W.H. Allen |year=1883 |id={{OCLC|557642974|1120161991}} |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofhelenamod00colluoft |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive |ref=none}}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Got |editor-first=Jerzy |editor-last2=Szczublewski |editor-first2=Józef |title=Korespondencja Heleny Modrzejewskiej i Karola Chlapowskiego |trans-title=Correspondence of Helena Modrzejewska and Karol Chłapowski |location=Warszawa |publisher=Panstwowy Instytut Wydawniczy |year=1965 |oclc=586347319  |language=pl |ref=none}}
*{{cite book |last=Gronowicz |first=Antoni |title=Modjeska: Her Life and Loves |location=New York |publisher=T. Yoselof |year=1956 |oclc=1333657 |ref=none}}
*{{cite web |last=Kemp |first=Bill |title=Famed actress Modjeska wowed locals |website=pantagraph.com |date=2016-04-10 |url=https://pantagraph.com/news/local/pfop-famed-actress-modjeska-wowed-locals/article_7374d700-3dc5-5843-9321-437e28d9de8e.html |url-access=subscription |ref=none}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Lerski |first1=Jerzy |last2=Wróbel |first2=Piotr |last3=Kozicizi |first3=Richard J. |author-link1=Jerzy Jan Lerski |title=Modrzejewska (Modjeska) Helena |encyclopedia=Historical dictionary of Poland, 966–1945 |publisher=Greenwood Press |publication-place=Westport, CT |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-313-03456-5 |oclc=55741538 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTUTqE2difgC&pg=PA361 |pages=361–362}}
*{{cite news |title=Madame Modjeska Recruiting Her Strength |journal=The Cornishman |publisher=Cornish Weekly Newspapers |date=1880-09-09 |issn=0307-0190 |oclc=795150396 |ref={{sfnref |Cornish Weekly Newspapers |1880}} |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000331/18800909/021/0005 |url-access=registration |via=The British Newspaper Archive |at=p. 5, col. 1}}
*{{cite book |last1=Modjeska |first1=Helena |title=Memories and Impressions of Helena Modjeska: An Autobiography|date=1910 |location=New York|publisher=The Macmillan Company |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924027156516|oclc=557798506|via=Internet Archive}}
*{{cite web |last=Obst |first=Peter J. |title=Ralph Modjeski: Bridge Builder Extraordinary |year=2000 |url=http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/exhib/modjeski/modj.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520051414/http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/exhib/modjeski/modj.html |archive-date=2009-05-20 |url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book |last=Osnes |first=Beth |title=Acting : an international encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO |publication-place=Santa Barbara, California Denver Colorado |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-57607-804-4 |id={{OCLC|50799341|437170895}}}}
*{{cite book |last=Seagraves |first=Anne |chapter=Helena Modjeska, The Polish Queen of Drama |title=Women who charmed the West |publisher=Wesanne Publications |publication-place=Lakeport, CA|year=1991 |isbn=978-0-9619088-2-9 |oclc=1200615950 |pages=72–83 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/womenwhocharmedw0000seag/page/72/mode/2up |chapter-url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive |ref=none}}
*{{cite book |last=Shattuck |first=Charles |title=Shakespeare on the American Stage, From Booth and Barrett to Southern and Marlowe |volume=2 |publisher=Folger Shakespeare Library |publication-place=Washington |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-918016-77-5 |oclc=1120919235 |pages=125–136, 317–318}}
*{{cite book |last1=Wilmeth |first1=Don B. |last2=Miller |first2=Tice L. |title=Cambridge guide to American theatre |publisher=Cambridge University Press |publication-place=Cambridge; New York |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-521-56444-1 |oclc=1028860352 |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto00camb/page/263/mode/1up?q=Helena+Modjeska |pages=263–264 |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Holmgren |first1=Beth |title=Starring Madame Modjeska: On Tour in Poland and America |date=2011 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-35664-2}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Helena Modrzejewska}}
{{Wikisource-author}}
{{wikiquote}}

===Archival collections===
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Helena Modjeska}}
*[http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6s203715 Guide to the Ellen K. Lee Collection on Helena Modjeska and Orange County.] Special Collections and Archives, UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
*[http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6c60373k Guide to the Collection of Helena Modjeska Theater Memorabilia.] Special Collections and Archives, UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
*[http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf0489n6gt Guide to the Helena Modjeska Collection.] Special Collections and Archives, UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
*[https://catalog.nypl.org/record=b20647557~S1 Madam Modjeska scrapbooks, 1877–1898], held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, [[New York Public Library for the Performing Arts]]
*[https://gutenberg.org/files/57611/57611-h/57611-h.htm Heroines of the Modern Stage] p.&nbsp;52 by Forrest Izard c. 1915

===Other===
* [https://culture.pl/en/artist/helena-modrzejewska-modjeska Helena Modrzejewska] at culture.pl
* [https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1800852 Modjeska, Helena] at American National Biography
* [http://www.diogenes-club.com/irene.htm Diogenes Club. Theaters in Warsaw, Where Irene Adler Sang]
* [http://www.modjeskasvoice.com/ A play in which Modjeska reflects on her life]
* [http://www.modjeskawomantriumphantmovie.com/ A documentary film about Helena Modjeska's life and passions]
* [https://www.itsbeyondmycontrol.com/helena-modjeska-icon-of-style-reconstructions-of-xix-century-costumes/ Helena Modjeska – Icon of Style. Reconstructions of XIX century costumes]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Modjeska, Helena}}
[[Category:1840 births]]
[[Category:1909 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:19th-century Polish actresses]]
[[Category:Actors from Orange County, California]]
[[Category:Actresses from Kraków]]
[[Category:American stage actresses]]
[[Category:Burials at Rakowicki Cemetery]]
[[Category:History of Orange County, California]]
[[Category:Actresses from Los Angeles County, California]]
[[Category:People from the Free City of Kraków]]
[[Category:Actresses from the Austrian Empire]]
[[Category:Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States]]
[[Category:Polish stage actresses]]
[[Category:Polish salon-holders]]
[[Category:Pacific Coast Women's Press Association]]