Sylvia Sidney (August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American actress.
Sidney, born Sophia Kosow in The Bronx, New York, was the daughter of Rebecca (née Saperstein), a Romanian Jew, and Victor Kosow, a Russian Jewish immigrant who worked as a clothing salesman. Her parents divorced by 1915 and she was adopted by her stepfather, Sigmund Sidney, a dentist. Sidney became an actress at the age of fifteen as a way of overcoming shyness, using her ste...
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Sylvia Sidney (August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American actress.
Sidney, born Sophia Kosow in The Bronx, New York, was the daughter of Rebecca (née Saperstein), a Romanian Jew, and Victor Kosow, a Russian Jewish immigrant who worked as a clothing salesman. Her parents divorced by 1915 and she was adopted by her stepfather, Sigmund Sidney, a dentist. Sidney became an actress at the age of fifteen as a way of overcoming shyness, using her stepfather's surname as her professional surname. As a student of the Theater Guild's School for Acting, Sidney appeared in several of their productions during the 1920s and earned praise from theater critics. In 1926, she was seen by a Hollywood talent scout and made her first film appearance later that year.
During the Depression, Sidney appeared in a string of films, often playing the girlfriend or the sister of a gangster. She appeared opposite such heavyweight screen idols as Spencer Tracy, Henry Fonda, Joel McCrea, Fredric March, George...
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