Eva Gerová

Biography

Eva Gerová, whose real name was Eva Branbergerová, was born on March 4, 1920, in Prague. Her father was the music critic, composer, and music professor Jan Branberger (1877–1952), who, among other works, composed the scores for the films *The White Disease*, *A Philosophical History*, *Karel Hynek Mácha*, and *What Is Whispered*. Her mother was Doubravka Branbergerová, née Černochová (1885–1945), a soprano at the National Theater in Prague. Until 1936, she studied at an English-language high school, from which she transferred to the Prague State Conservatory, where she was accepted. She began performing at a young age, for example in the graduation production *Panenský večírek* (*Maiden’s Party*), where she played a child alongside Marie Glázrová. Her first film role came at age 16, alongside Zita Kabátová in the film *Manželství na úvěr* (*Marriage on Credit*, 1936). This was followed by roles in films such as *Father Kondelík and the Groom Vejvara* (1937), *The Career of Mother Lízalka* (1937), *Karel Hynek Mácha* (1937), *The Accordion* (1937), *The Honeymoon* (1938), *Miss Mother* (1938), *Master and Servant* (1938), *The Undefeated Army* (1938), *Jarka and Věrka* (1938), and *The White Crow* (1938). Her last film was *Venoušek and Stázička* (1939). After filming her last movie, she made guest appearances in three productions at the Vinohrady Theater. She subsequently married Jaroslav Šanovec, and that same year she gave birth to a son, followed two years later by a daughter. After her divorce from Jaroslav Šanovec, she remarried Jiří Páv, with whom she remained until his death in 2009. Her family and the political situation at the time were the main reasons for the end of her career. For a while, she worked as a saleswoman in a jewelry store. She was then employed as a part-time worker at the National Library. This was followed by a job at the library of the University of Economics, from where she later moved to the Municipal Library. There, she started in the theater and film department and eventually spent 16 years in the youth department. Even so, she changed her work environment several more times, and her last job was at the library of the Mechanika manufacturing cooperative, where she retired at the age of 73. Eva Gerová spent her final years surrounded by her family in Prague, where she died on June 5, 2013, at the age of 93.