Who Is Ivana Žigon

Ivana Žigon (born in Belgrade on 2 February 1968) is a Serbian actress, director and screenwriter. She is a principal actress of the Drama Ensemble of the National Theatre in Belgrade and is also known as the founder of the children’s ensemble Kosovski božuri.

She was born into one of the best-known acting families in the region. Her father was the actor and director Stevo Žigon, and her mother was the actress Jelena Žigon. Even so, Ivana Žigon built a path of her own, which spans stage roles, large-scale theatre spectacles, documentary films and humanitarian work.

Her name is associated with the roles of Koštana, Miss Julie and Nastasya Filippovna, as well as with the production of “The Idiot” she directed in Minsk. According to the National Theatre, she has won the main prizes of the Golden Knight international forum in several categories.

Early Life and Childhood

Ivana Žigon was born on 2 February 1968 in Belgrade. Sources agree on this date: it is given by the National Theatre in Belgrade, Serbian Wikipedia, Wikidata and IMDb.

She grew up in a home devoted to theatre and film. Her father, Stevo Žigon (Ljubljana, 8 December 1926 – Belgrade, 28 December 2005), is remembered as an actor, director and teacher. Wider audiences know him best for playing Krieger, the head of the Belgrade Gestapo, in the television series “Otpisani” and “Povratak otpisanih”.

Her mother, Jelena Žigon (Belgrade, 3 November 1933 – Belgrade, 10 April 2018), is remembered for the role of Jelena Todorović in “Žikina dinastija” and for dozens of film and television parts. Stevo and Jelena met in 1950, when she was seventeen and he was twenty-four.

Ivana also has a brother, Nikola, a painter who graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade. According to media reports, he has exhibited in Paris, Belgrade, Munich and other cities.

Education

Ivana Žigon graduated in acting from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, where her father had once taught. She also completed secondary music school in Belgrade.

Her musical training later served her well. Her performances often combine recitation, song and stage movement, which is clearly visible in the programmes she has directed.

Early Career

She took her first stage steps in 1989 as the Kosovo Maiden in Petar Zec’s stage spectacle “Kosovski boj” at the Sava Centre. The following year she played Pamela in Anouilh’s “The Ladies’ Orchestra”, directed by Petar Zec, a role for which she received the “Ćuran” award at the Comedy Festival in Jagodina.

From 1991 she appeared in leading roles at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre, the Belgrade Drama Theatre, the National Theatre in Niš and in Podgorica. She played Anne Prosper in Mishima’s “Madame de Sade”, directed by Radmila Vojvodić, then Mileva in Aca Popović’s “Krmeći kas”, and Maria in William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”, directed by Jagoš Marković.

Her early roles also include Zora Šišarka in Aleksandar Popović’s “Bela kafa” and Gaga in Vida Ognjenović’s “Devojka modre kose”, which the director staged herself. In this way Ivana Žigon played a number of classic and contemporary female characters before the age of thirty.

Rise to Popularity

The turning point came with the role of Koštana in Bora Stanković’s play of the same name, which she played in 1995 at the National Theatre in Niš, directed by Branislav Mićunović. For it she received the “Dnevnik” award at the Sterija Theatre Festival in 1996, as well as the “Mila Stojadinović” award for a leading female role at the “Joakim Vujić” theatre meeting.

She became a member of the Drama Ensemble of the National Theatre in Belgrade in 1994 and earned the title of principal actress in 1999. In that house she played Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion”, directed by Jovica Pavić, and the title role in Strindberg’s “Miss Julie”. According to her official biography, that production was directed by Stevo Žigon, Duško Radović and Bojan Stupica.

In 1995 she also appeared at the Novi Sad Summer Festival, where she played Desdemona in Shakespeare’s “Othello”, directed by Stevo Žigon, as well as Lady Macbeth. The same year she played Marina in Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata”, staged in Budva by Petar Zec.

The following year she played Nastasya Filippovna in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot” (Russian: Фёдор Достоевский). That role became one of her most recognisable.

Later she played Nina Zarechnaya in Chekhov’s “The Seagull”, directed by Stevo Žigon, Helen of Troy in Goethe’s “Faust II”, directed by Mira Erceg, and Klara in Nušić’s “DR”, directed by Jagoš Marković. Sources differ on the years of these premieres, so they are not listed individually here.

Television and Film

Besides theatre, Ivana Žigon has played leading and supporting roles in television dramas produced by RTS. Among them are “Bruklin – Gusinje” by Želimir Žilnik, “Kod večite slavine”, based on Momčilo Nastasijević and directed by Mira Vukomanović, and “Svet” by Branislav Nušić, directed by Petar D. Ćorković.

She also appeared in the television adaptation of Crnjanski’s “Raj”, directed by Petar Zec, as well as in the series “Oriđinali” and “Policajac sa Petlovog brda”.

According to IMDb, her film and television credits include “Poslednji krug u Monci” (1989) and “Stojte galije carske” (2014), in which she plays Milunka Savić. A 2024 project, “Nobelovac”, in which she plays Lula Vučo, was listed as being in post-production.

Her own television programme “S one strane ogledala”, made for RTS from her own script, was, according to the official biography of the National Theatre, chosen in 1999 among the six best television shows in the world at the Golden Rose festival in Montreux.

Directing and Large-Scale Stage Projects

Ivana Žigon directs and writes scripts for musical stage spectacles, some of which bring together several hundred performers. According to the theatre, her projects were broadcast live or recorded in RTS productions.

Among the most important are “Njegoš nebom osijan”, staged at the National Theatre in 2013 for the 200th anniversary of the birth of Petar II Petrović Njegoš, and “Beli ždralovi”, a spectacle dedicated to Victory Day over fascism, presented at the Sava Centre in 2013. The spectacle “Stojte galije carske” was shown in 2014 at the Sava Centre, followed in 2015 by “Nek zapeva cela Srbija”.

She continued to direct theatre productions in the following years. “Desanki za večnost” was staged in 2018 on the Raša Plaović stage of the National Theatre, with Ivana playing the Woman. The production is a dramatisation of the verses of her mother, Jelena Žigon.

This was followed by “Jelena, žena koje nema”, based on Ivo Andrić and staged in 2022 at the Ivo Andrić House in Herceg Novi, in which she also played the lead. In 2023 she directed “The Idiot” by Fyodor Dostoevsky at the Maxim Gorky National Academic Drama Theatre in Minsk.

As a director and screenwriter she also signed about fifteen state ceremonies and commemorative programmes broadcast on national frequencies. They were tied to anniversaries of events from 1999 and 2004, among other commemorations.

Kosovski božuri and Work with Children from Kosovo and Metohija

The best-known part of her public engagement is tied to Kosovo and Metohija. She founded the ensemble Kosovski božuri (Kosovo Peonies) together with her mother Jelena Žigon and the composer Gavrilo Kujundžić. The year of founding differs between sources: most, including Wikipedia and RTS, give 2004, while the official biography of the National Theatre gives 2005.

The ensemble brings together children from Serbian communities in Kosovo and Metohija, including children from Orahovac, Velika Hoča, Priština, Goraždevac, Gračanica and other places. Ivana is their artistic director.

According to the National Theatre’s biography, the ensemble has given about 150 concerts in many cities in Serbia, Montenegro and Republika Srpska, as well as among the diaspora abroad. One concert was also held in France, in Serbian, English and Russian.

Ivana also organised the departure of 540 children from enclaves in Kosovo and Metohija to Russia for recovery. For this undertaking she received the “Podvig godine” (Feat of the Year) award from the newspaper “Večernje novosti” in 2005.

Together with her mother she gave about one hundred humanitarian performances in villages in Kosovo and Metohija, for which they received the “Lazar Kujundžić” award in 2011. She also collected about 2,500 children’s drawings on the theme “My Childhood” and compiled a book of the same name.

Cooperation with Russia and Belarus

Since 2002 Ivana Žigon has served as president of the Society of Serbian-Russian Friendship, which later expanded to include Belarus. According to her official biography, that same year she received a delegation of the Moscow government led by Konstantin Zatulin (Russian: Константин Затулин), which twice visited Kosovo and Metohija.

According to the same biography, 14 truck loads of aid worth about 200,000 dollars were delivered at the time. Days of Culture of Kosovo and Metohija were held in Moscow the same year, with the support of the then mayor Yuri Luzhkov (Russian: Юрий Лужков).

At her initiative Moscow set aside funds for the reconstruction of the village of Istok, where families received keys to new and renovated houses. The number of families differs between sources: 75 or 85 are mentioned.

She is also linked to Russian artists through her long-standing cooperation with the international forum “Golden Knight”, of which she has been vice-president since 2015. According to her official biography, she received that title as the most awarded artist of the festival outside the Russian Federation.

The Russian actor Nikolai Burlyaev (Russian: Николай Бурляев), director of the forum, stated that over three decades Ivana has received the most “Golden Knight” awards. Her cooperation with Nikita Mikhalkov (Russian: Никита Михалков) is also mentioned, about whom she made the documentary film “The Last European”.

In 2023 she directed “The Idiot” in Minsk, and in 2024 she received a special recognition from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (Belarusian: Аляксандр Лукашэнка) for contributing to the popularisation of Slavic culture and art. According to her official biography, although she has never been a member of any political party, she is actively involved in cultural diplomacy.

Greatest Achievements

Among Ivana Žigon’s most important accomplishments are the following:

• the role of Koštana (1995) and the awards at the Sterija Theatre Festival and the “Joakim Vujić” theatre meeting;
• the title of principal actress of the Drama Ensemble of the National Theatre in Belgrade since 1999;
• the roles of Nastasya Filippovna, Miss Julie and Nina Zarechnaya;
• the spectacles “Beli ždralovi”, “Stojte galije carske” and “Njegoš nebom osijan”;
• founding the ensemble Kosovski božuri and the humanitarian action for 540 children;
• the Grand Prix for the production “The Idiot” at the “Golden Knight” forum in Moscow (2023);
• the “White Stork” (Beli aist) award for the best production in Belarus.

Books and Documentary Films

Ivana Žigon is also an author. She wrote “Žig pozorišta” (2005) and compiled “Moje detinjstvo” (2005) and “Tako je govorio Žigon” (2015), and in 2025 she compiled Mitar Martinović’s book “Bitka za čast”. She also compiled a monograph about her mother, Jelena Jovanović Žigon, titled “Naša diva”.

As an author, director and screenwriter she signed the documentary films “Poslednja misija Mihajla Ptašuka” (2002), “Poslednji Evropljanin” (2003), “Zemlja pod belim krilima” (2004), “Srce od čokolade” (2004) and “65 godina vernosti” (2005). The last one is about the journey of the Goli Otok survivors to Moscow.

She has also released four DVDs with video clips dedicated to Kosovo and Metohija, among them “Prkosna pesma u susret Vidovdanu” and “Stojte galije carske”.

Personal Life

Ivana Žigon preserves her family heritage in her public work as well. Her father, Stevo Žigon, died on 28 December 2005 in Belgrade and was buried at the New Cemetery in the Alley of the Greats.

Her mother, Jelena Žigon, died on 10 April 2018 after a short illness, at the age of eighty-five. She was buried on 13 April at the New Cemetery, to the song “Lepe moje crne oči” performed by the ensemble Kosovski božuri. Ivana placed in the grave the book “Tražim pomilovanje” by Desanka Maksimović.

According to media reports, she set up a memorial room dedicated to her mother in the family home in Senjak. She speaks Russian and English, and also communicates in French, Spanish and Italian.

Interesting Facts

• Ivana Žigon is the daughter of two well-known actors. Her father was a prisoner in the Nazi camp of Dachau as a fifteen-year-old.
• According to her official biography, she has recited at stadiums before 20,000 fans who repeated verses about Kosovo and Metohija.
• Her “Prkosna pesma” (Defiant Song) by Dobrica Erić, according to the National Theatre’s biography, became one of the recognisable symbols of resistance in 1999.
• According to the same source, in 2004 she recited that poem in Spanish in Havana, and Fidel Castro handed her his book.
• She credits the Minsk production of “The Idiot” together with her father, Stevo Žigon.
• According to the National Theatre, she performs a Russian-language production with a Russian bard, “Dok se zemlja još okreće”, staged in about twenty Russian cities.

Awards and Recognition

• 1990 – “Ćuran” at the Comedy Festival in Jagodina for the role of Pamela in “The Ladies’ Orchestra”;
• 1996 – “Golden Knight” for the screenplay of the film “Idiotka”, in cooperation with the Russian director Viktor Buturlin;
• 1996 – “Dnevnik” award at the Sterija Theatre Festival for the role of Koštana;
• 1996 – “Mila Stojadinović” award for a leading female role at the “Joakim Vujić” theatre meeting;
• 1999 – “Woman of the Year” award of the Union of Women of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;
• 2003 – “Golden Knight” for the role of Miss Julie;
• 2004 – medal of Rossotrudnichestvo’s predecessor (Roszarubezhcentr), presented by Valentina Tereshkova (Russian: Валентина Терешкова);
• 2005 – “Feat of the Year” award from “Večernje novosti”;
• 2005 – Order “For Faith and Loyalty of St. Andrew the First-Called” from the Center of National Glory of Russia (Wikidata gives 2009);
• 2005 – “Golden Knight” as artistic director of the ensemble Kosovski božuri;
• 2009 – “Karić Brothers” award for humanitarian work;
• 2011 – “Lazar Kujundžić” award;
• 2015 – “Golden Knight” for directing the spectacle “Stojte galije carske”;
• 2017 – “Golden Knight” for lifetime contribution to Slavic culture;
• 2019 – jubilee medal “Victory over Fascism” from the governor of Sevastopol;
• 2023 – Order “Star of Dostoevsky” for lifetime achievement;
• 2023 – Grand Prix for “The Idiot” at the “Golden Knight” forum and the “White Stork” award;
• 2024 – special recognition from the President of Belarus;
• 2026 – a state decoration presented by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on the occasion of Serbian Unity, Freedom and National Flag Day.

Legacy and Influence

Ivana Žigon represents a link between generations of Serbian theatre. She carried on the work of her parents, and she preserves her mother’s legacy through productions, books and a memorial room.

Her work with Kosovski božuri drew public attention, and her spectacles combine drama, poetry, music and historical themes. Thanks to cooperation with Russian and Belarusian institutions, domestic culture has been presented beyond Serbia’s borders.

Critics and audiences assess her engagement in different ways, but her contribution to theatre and cultural cooperation is regularly noted in domestic media.