Lily Bouwmeester

Lily Bouwmeester was born on Sep 28, 1901 in Netherlands. Lily Bouwmeester's big-screen debut came with Pygmalion directed by Ludwig Berger in 1937. Lily Bouwmeester is known for Morgen gaat 't beter! directed by Frederic Zelnik, Lily Bouwmeester stars as Willy Verhulst and Nico De Jong as Frits Verhulst. The upcoming new movie Lily Bouwmeester plays is Ergens in Nederland which will be released on Apr 12, 1940.

Lily Bouwmeester was born as the daughter of violinist Ludovicus Adolphus Bouwmeester and pianist Julie Marie Arpeau. She was a member of the famous Bouwmeester family, mostly consisting out of actors. She wanted to be a dancer, but her father insisted on her being a violinist as well and went along with his tours through Europe.It soon became clear traveling all day wasn't good for her health. Bouwmeester moved in with her aunt Theo Mann-Bouwmeester, also an actress. Theo put the little Lily on stage in several theater productions. Because of her small posture and short hair, Bouwmeester played both boys and girls. She loathed it, as she was still desiring to be a dancer.Bouwmeester changed her mind about acting when she met actor Eduard Verkade. He gave her a lot advice and inspired her to make a real career out of her acting. She entered the film industry in 1916, playing a younger version of the character of actress Annie Bos in Majoor Frans (1916).Bouwmeester played supporting roles in several silent films, but was more ambitious with theater. In 1917, she enlisted a very prestigious theater and performed at the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam. She stayed working there till 1920 and was praised by critics.While working on stage, Bouwmeester met actor Theo Frenkel Jr., whom she married to on March 31, 1921. They acted together in several theater productions and produced their own child oriented plays as well for a short period. In 1923, they moved to the Hague to work in theater in Rotterdam, a city nearby. Here, she usually played comedic roles and soon discovered that was her specialty. The critics were highly positive about her acting skills.In 1927, she left the theater to follow her husband, he signed a contract to appear in a touring opera. In 1930, she returned to acting in theater in Amsterdam, but left it after two seasons to play comedic roles again in other stage productions.The marriage of Frenkel and Bouwmeester failed to succeed. They divorced in 1933. Bouwmeester soon remarried with Cor van der Lugt Melsert Jr. and they moved to Rotterdam. Van der Lugt wanted her to be a housewife. Bouwmeester, desiring to have some time off, didn't object. She did auditions for several films, including De Kribbebijter (1935).In 1937, she was offered the lead in Pygmalion (1937). It would be her first talkie and first movie in 16 years. The film became a huge success and Bouwmeester became an instant star. She even had to hire a secretary to handle her fan mail. American producers saw potential in her and Paramount Pictures offered her a five year contract. Her husband refused to move with her to Hollywood, so she declined.Bouwmeester went on acting in Dutch movie productions, which all became the biggest box office hits of the 1930s, including Vadertje Langbeen (1938), Morgen gaat 't beter (1939) and Ergens in Nederland (1940). She usually played teenage girls or students, despite the fact she was near the age of 40 years old.When WOII broke out, Bouwmeester retired. Remarkably, a German movie studio offered her a contract, but she declined and never made another movie again. She was separated from her husband during WOII and took in Jewish boys. In 1945, she returned to acting on stage in Rotterdam. She played in the stage version of Pygmalion and eventually played the role over 800 times.In 1952, Bouwmeester announced she was going to leave the theater in Rotterdam. Jan de Hartog created a spectacular play to mark her end and produced Het Hemelbed. It became a great success, performing in the play over 500 times. However, in 1955 she took a break from acting again to take some rest.In 1960 she returned to theater, performing on stage in Arnhem. Meanwhile, she appeared on several television shows. In 1969, she retired from acting forever. She would never act again, but did stay on to be a public figure for several decades. After the death of her husband in 1990, she moved to Sliedrecht.Although she was awarded with a Golden Calf - being named the "Best Actress of Pre-War Movies" - in 1991, she was very lonely in her final years. She died in 1993 at the local hospital, aged 92. She was cremated in the Hague.