Dagmar Bláhová

Dasha Bláhová
Born	Dasha Bláhová (1949-03-05) 5 March 1949 Liberec, Czechoslovakia
Other names	Dášha Bláhová
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1972–present

Dasha Bláhová (born 8 March 1949) is a Czech-born actress, who became notable on Australian television in 1985 for her role in soap opera Neighbours as original character Maria Ramsay. She appeared in foreign film and after emigrating to Australia during the Communist era, she appeared in many television and film roles, she returned to her birth country in 1998 and again started appearing natively in film roles. Also credited as Dášha Bláhová.

Personal life

Bláhová was born in Czechoslovakia. When she began her acting career, Czechoslovakia was under communist rule, so citizens were restricted in their movements outside the country, however, Bláhová's popularity in Europe enabled her to perform around the continent. She met her future husband Juraj while she was touring in London. He had an Australian passport, having lived in the country for three years, and he could not return to Czechoslovakia with Bláhová. The couple became engaged in Paris, but struggled to find someone to marry them as Czechoslovakian officials discouraged relationships with former citizens. They were eventually married in Brussels at the Australian Embassy, three months after Bláhová gave birth to their first child, a daughter. They then applied for permission to immigrate to Australia. Bláhová also has a son.

Career

Bláhová attended the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and graduated with a major in acting and puppetry in 1971. She went onto appear in various theatre productions for Theatre On A String and Cirque Alfred. She then moved into television and film roles. She become known for her roles in Věra Chytilová's comedy films The Apple Game and Calamity. In 1978, she was named as one of the 20 best actors in the world by a panel of Paris cinema critics, following her role in The Apple Game. She moved to Australia in 1980. Bláhová was the first person to appear in the opening episode of A Country Practice, as the pregnant Sandra Myers, whose baby is delivered by main character Terence Elliott (Shane Porteous). Bláhová wrote, directed and starred in a pantomime called The Devil and Katya, which was performed at the Playbox Theatre in 1982. She also had guest roles in Cop Shop and the television film Learned Friend.

In 1985, she was cast as housewife Maria Ramsay in the Seven Network soap opera Neighbours. After leaving the serial that same year, Bláhová starred in Louis Nowra's television film Displaced Persons, which tells the story of European refugees arriving in Australian in 1945. Nowra began working on the film after meeting Blahova in 1981. She appeared in several films, including the 1986 television film Funeral Going, Luigo Acquisto's independent film Hungry Heart, and the comedy-horror film Howling III in 1987. Bláhová appeared in the 1988 television film The Tourist (also known as Sands of the Bedouin), followed by a starring role in the futuristic rock epic Sons of Steel alongside Robert Hartley, Jeff Duff and Mark Hembrow.

Bláhová later returned to Czechoslovakia and continued to act on screen and in theatre productions. In 2009, Bláhová appeared in the Czech television serial Velmi křehké vztahy as Eliška Tůmová. In 2023, Bláhová's noval Fables from the Other World was published.

Filmography

Film and television performances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	And Give My Love to the Swallows	Julinka	Czech: ...a pozdravuji vlaštovky
1976	The Apple Game	Anna Símová	Czech: Hra o jablko
1978	Leave Me Alone		Czech: Nechci nic slyšet
1981	Calamity	Majka
1981	Hoodwink	Specialist's Wife	As Dascha Blahova; uncredited
1981	A Country Practice	Sandra Myers	Episodes: "In General Practice (Parts 1 & 2)"
1984	A Country Practice	Tania Menzel	Recurring role
1985	Neighbours	Maria Ramsay	Main cast
1985	Displaced Persons	Anna	Television film
1986	Funeral Going	Helena	Television film
1987	Hungry Heart	Mrs Bono
1987	Howling III	Olga Gork
1988	The Tourist	Laila Ibrahaim	Television film
1989	Sons of Steel	Honor
1990	Muka obraznosti
1994	Nexus 2.431
1998	Vykání psovi
1998	Pasti, pasti, pastičky
2000	Canone inverso – Making Love	Secretary Sophie
2001	Returning in Autumn		Czech: Podzimní návrat
2004	Když chcípne pes
2004	The Prince & Me	Lady In Waiting
2007	Catch the Doctor!	Serafina Pustinová	Czech: Chyťte doktora
2009	Velmi křehké vztahy	Eliška Tůmová

External links

• Dasha Bláhová at IMDb