Levana Finkelstein

Levana Finkelstein was born in 1947 in Sofia

Levana Finkelstein was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 21 September 1947. Her parents brought her to Israel at the age of 1, and she grew up in Jaffa. Her father was a painter and poet who worked in casting, and her mother was a choir conductor.

During her military service she founded the IDF Theater together with Shaul Biber. She finished her studies at the Beit Zvi acting school in 1967. She later studied acting at HB Studio in New York and earned a degree in the arts at Hunter College.

She acted on many stages, including Habima, the Cameri, the Haifa Theater, Beit Lessin and Gesher. Her film debut was the lead role in the 1969 drama Margo Sheli, directed by Menahem Golan. In 2009 she won the Ophir Award for Best Supporting Actress for Sumo, A Matter of Size.

She also works as a sculptor in bronze. In 2005 a group of her sculptures on the friendship between Bulgaria and Israel was placed in the garden of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sofia.