Alicja Bobrowska
Polish model and actress (1936–2025)

Alicja Bobrowska
Bobrwoska during a 1958 show at the National Theatre, Warsaw, Poland
Born(1936-01-08)8 January 1936
Volodymyr, Second Polish Republic
Died13 January 2025(2025-01-13) (aged 89)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Alma materAST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
SpouseStanislaw Zaczyk
Children1

Alicja Bobrowska (8 January 1936 – 13 January 2025) was a Polish actress, television presenter and artist. She won the Miss Polonia beauty pageant in 1957.

Biography

Bobrowska was born on 8 January 1936 in Volodymyr, Malopolskie (an area disputed by the Second Polish Republic, Bolshevist Russia, and the Ukrainian People's Republic, now part of Ukraine).[1][2] Her baptism was recorded in the church books "affiliation" column as "Polish emigrant".[3][4] She lived with her family in Gdańsk, Poland, after World War II.[1]

Bobrowska's mother had nursing qualifications and her family wanted her to pursue a medical career. However, she wanted a career in the arts.[1][3] She studied at the AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków. While studying, Bobrowska worked as a model for local department stores.[1] In 1956, she was voted the "nicest student."[5]

Bobrowska won the Miss Polonia beauty pageant in 1957,[6] held at the Gdańsk Shipyard,[7] becoming the first post-war winner of the competition.[8][9] Her crown was modelled on the medieval crown of Queen Jadwiga of Poland.[4] The jurors included Tymoteusz Ortym [pl], Lopek Krukowski and Magdalena Samozwaniec.[5]

Bobrowska was then invited to compete at Miss Universe, to be held that year in Long Beach, California, United States, but her passport application was rejected. She sent a telegram to the Polish Prime Minister, Józef Cyrankiewicz, and a few days later she was granted a passport.[4] While travelling to America, the suitcase containing her ball gown was lost, but she was lent a dress by a Jewish woman of Polish origin who ran a boutique in Beverly Hills.[4]

At Miss Universe 1958, Bobrowska wore folk costume, placed 5th overall, won a cup and prize of $1,600 and won an honourable mention and first place for the best speech about her home country.[7][9] A copy of the speech and the cup she was awarded are now held in the collection of the Theatre Museum, Warsaw.[4] After the pageant, she was offered a deal with the cosmetics brand Max Factor and a chance to star in Paramount Pictures films alongside Marlon Brando, but turned down the offers to return to Poland due to her "love for her homeland."[4][9][10]

In Poland, Bobrowska became an actress, performing at theatres in Kraków and Warsaw.[11] She married Polish actor Stanisław Zaczyk[12] and they had a son together.[2] While raising her son, Bobrowska performed roles in films,[13] including in the Polish film Malzenstwo z rozsadku (Marriage of Convenience, 1967) by Stanisław Bareja[14] and in the Egyptian film Loghat El Hob (1974) by Zoheir Bakir.[citation needed] She also worked as a television presented for public service broadcaster Telewizja Polska.[2]

In 1981, Bobrowska emigrated to California, United States, where she retrained as a nurse and volunteered to care for children who came from Poland for heart surgery.[4] She also produced contemporary paintings and sculptures, which were shown locally and at galleries in Chicago and New York City,[9][11] and participated in Polish expatriate community events as a member of the Helena Modrzejewska Art and Club.[15][16] In 2004, Bobrowska returned to Poland as a guest at Miss Polonia.[4]

Bobrowska died on 13 January 2025 in Los Angeles, California, United States, aged 89.[11][17][18] A funeral mass was held at the Church of Our Lady of Jasna Góra in Los Angeles and her body was repatriated to Gdańsk, Poland, for burial in the family plot.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Mazurek, Aneta (2 September 2011). "Taki cud zdarza się tylko raz w życiu!". Kobieta Onet (in Polish). Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Kleczkowska, Aldona (15 January 2025). "Alicja Bobrowska nie żyje. Tak przed śmiercią harowała pierwsza powojenna Miss Polonia! Smutna prawda tylko u nas". ShowNews (in Polish). Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Alicja Bobrowska: pierwsza powojenna miss Polonia, która dla miłości zrezygnowała z międzynarodowej kariery". Viva.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Salus, Dororthy (20 December 2019). "Żeby lecieć do USA na wybory Miss Universe '58, napisała do Cyrankiewicza. "Dałam słowo, że wrócę do Polski"". Gazeta (in Polish). Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Alicja Bobrowska: Jak zmieniła się pierwsza powojenna Miss Polonia?". WP Film (in Polish). 10 January 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  6. ^ Andrzej Sikorski (18 October 2025). PKF 1957 33B Uroczystości w Narviku. Alicja Bobrowska zostaje wybrana Miss Polonia. Retrieved 21 December 2025 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ a b Czarnecka, Agata (15 April 2022). "Ślicznotki, skandale i dramaty, czyli wybory Miss Polonia w czasach PRL". Londynek (in Polish). Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Alicja Bobrowska". Miss Polonia. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d "Alicja Bobrowska: Poland's Post-War Icon of Beauty and Talent". PolandDaily24. 8 January 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  10. ^ Kortyka, Damian (28 September 2025). "Marlon Brando chciał ją w Hollywood. Ona wybrała miłość w Polsce". Kultura Onet (in Polish). Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  11. ^ a b c "Zmarła była Miss Polonia!". Cytaty (in Polish). Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  12. ^ Rajca, Brunon (1980). Nie bądź kiep! (in Polish). Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza. p. 15.
  13. ^ Goscilo, Helena (11 April 2023). "Singing a Different Tune": The Slavic Film Musical in a Transnational Context. Academic Studies Press. ISBN 979-8-88719-129-4.
  14. ^ Ford, Charles; Hammond, Robert (7 May 2015). Polish Film: A Twentieth Century History. McFarland. p. 249. ISBN 978-1-4766-0803-7.
  15. ^ a b "Ostatnie Pożegnanie Alicji Bobrowskiej, pierwszej powojennej Miss Polonia z 1957 roku". POLSKI FM 92.7 (in Polish). Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  16. ^ Trochimczyk, Maja (5 December 2022). "Modjeska Art & Culture Club: Christmas Caroling with Wojciech Kocyan, Olivia Kierdal. Honoring Alicja Bobrowska, December 17, 2022". Modjeska Art & Culture Club. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  17. ^ "Nie żyje Alicja Bobrowska. Była pierwszą powojenną Miss Polonią". Fakt (in Polish). 14 January 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  18. ^ "Nie żyje Alicja Bobrowska, pierwsza powojenna Miss Polonia". Dziennik (in Polish). 14 January 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  • Alicja Bobrowska at IMDb
  • Alicja Bobrowska at filmpolski.pl
  • Photograph of Alicja Bobrowska in the Women and Gender Issues Press Photography Collection of the Boston Public Library
  • Photographs of Alicja Bobrowska in the Filmoteka Narodowa Instytut Audiowizualny [pl]
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