Who Is Nataša Tapušković

Nataša Tapušković (née Šolak; born in Kruševac on 27 August 1975) is a Serbian stage, film and television actress. Audiences first got to know her as Danica in the 1998 teen comedy “Barking at the Stars,” and later as Sabaha in Emir Kusturica’s “Life Is a Miracle.” For many years she has been a member of the ensemble of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre in Belgrade.

Early in her career she performed under her maiden name, which is why many sources still list her as Nataša Šolak. Besides her roles in the films “Šišanje” and “Monument to Michael Jackson,” she has appeared in the series “Pozorište u kući,” “Poslednja audijencija,” “Folk” and “Kljun.” Her biography follows the path of a girl from Kruševac who enrolled in acting almost by chance and has stayed in the profession for more than two and a half decades.

Early Life and Childhood

Nataša Tapušković was born on 27 August 1975 in Kruševac. Her mother worked in healthcare, and her father worked in economics and geography. The date and place of birth are confirmed by Wikipedia, IMDb and several Serbian media outlets.

By her own account, she spent her childhood in Kruševac and remembers it fondly. She was a withdrawn child who stayed close to her kindergarten teacher. Her first public performance came at that time: at an event at the Dom omladine (Youth Center), she recited the poem “Sunce” (“The Sun”) in front of a large audience, without any stage fright, which surprised even her.

She grew up in an apartment building with girls her age, with whom she played hide-and-seek and staged shows for the neighbors modeled on the Eurovision Song Contest. In those games she sang songs by Lepa Brena, with a jump rope serving as her microphone. From the age of five she trained in ballet at the studio of the teacher Boris Radak, who, in her words, strongly shaped her as a person.

Her Parents’ Divorce and Loneliness

When she was five, her half-sister on her mother’s side, who was fourteen years older, got married, so Nataša grew up as an only child. Her parents divorced when she was seven, and her father moved to Belgrade. He visited her on weekends. In an interview with the magazine “Puls,” she later said that she found this loss emotionally difficult to accept and often felt lonely.

By her own account, those wounds healed only after she had children of her own. When she was thirteen, Boris Radak died, so she gave up ballet and switched to folk dance. She kept dancing folklore until she began her studies.

Education

At school, Nataša Tapušković was more drawn to literature than to acting. Her greatest love was philosophy, but she decided to study literature. Toward the end of secondary school, she watched her friends prepare for admission to the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU) and decided to give it a try herself.

She went to an acting audition, as she says, by accident, because of a classmate. The very next day she began preparing with the help of Milovan Ćetković, who also coached Vojin Ćetković and many other candidates from Kruševac. She prepared for the entrance exam in only 27 days.

In 1994, entrance exams at all faculties were held at the same time, so her exams for acting and for literature fell in the same hour. Her mother feared for her future and advised her not to take the risk. Nataša chose acting anyway and passed the entrance exam on her first attempt. Her admission came as a shock to everyone around her.

She was admitted to the class of Professor Vladimir Jevtović, together with her colleagues Ljubomir Bandović, Andrija Šepetkovski, Mina Lazarević, Nebojša Milovanović and Vesna Stanković. The first year of study was very hard for her, as she found herself in a completely new world and spent whole days at the Academy. The second year was easier, and in the third she received her first television role. She graduated in 1998. In her first year of study she lived with her father in Belgrade, and her mother later joined them.

Early Career

Before she graduated, Nataša Šolak appeared on the small screen. Her first television role was Evica in the 1997 comedy “Pokondirena tikva.” On set she acted alongside Nebojša Glogovac, Vesna Čipčić and Pepi Laković, for whom it was one of his last roles.

In August of the same year, she received an offer to appear in the film “Barking at the Stars.” According to her later recollection, a professor told her that Dragan Mićanović had been asking who she was, because he was looking for a screen partner. He recommended her to the director Zdravko Šotra, and she was invited to an audition. The role that followed changed her life.

Rise to Popularity

The film “Barking at the Stars,” directed by Zdravko Šotra, premiered on 1 June 1998. It was based on the novel by Milovan Vitezović, and its story follows the students and teachers of a secondary school in a provincial town. At its center is a boy nicknamed Philosopher, who wins the heart of his classmate Danica. Philosopher was played by Dragan Mićanović, and Danica Janković was played by Nataša Tapušković.

The film also starred Velimir Bata Živojinović, Nikola Simić, Vesna Trivalić, Bogdan Diklić, Aleksandar Berček, Branimir Brstina and her fellow student Nebojša Milovanović. The film is still considered a cult classic, and its romantic closing scene remains among the best known in Serbian cinema.

For Nataša Tapušković, it was the role that immediately made her recognizable to a wide audience. New opportunities followed in the years after, including the 1999 film “Proleće u Limasolu” (“Spring in Limassol”), in which she played Vanja Teodorović.

Leaving for Italy in 1999

When the bombing of Yugoslavia began in 1999, Nataša Tapušković left Serbia and traveled to Italy. According to Serbian media reports, she lived there for about a year and worked as a babysitter. At that point, she was not sure whether she would continue acting.

She later said she was not weighed down by what she had already achieved in Serbia and was not afraid of a life without acting. Still, her homesickness was stronger than the good pay and the travel she enjoyed. After a year she returned to Belgrade and resumed acting in the theatre.

Life Is a Miracle and Her Work with Emir Kusturica

Her greatest international success came with the 2004 film “Life Is a Miracle,” directed by Emir Kusturica. The story is set in Bosnia in 1992, on the eve of the war. A Serbian engineer named Luka, played by Slavko Štimac, is tasked with guarding a Bosniak hostage named Sabaha. The role was played by Nataša Tapušković, who was credited in the film as Nataša Šolak.

Luka plans to exchange Sabaha for his captured son Miloš, but love grows between them. The film also starred Vesna Trivalić, Vuk Kostić, Mirjana Karanović, Nikola Kojo and Aleksandar Berček. It won several nominations and awards at international festivals. For Nataša Tapušković, it was one of the biggest film opportunities of her career.

Career at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre

Nataša Tapušković is a member of the ensemble of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre (JDP) in Belgrade. Audiences have also seen her at Atelje 212 and at the Belgrade Drama Theatre. Most of her most important stage roles are tied to JDP.

Her Nora in the play “Šta se dogodilo nakon što je Nora napustila muža ili Stubovi društava” (“What Happened After Nora Left Her Husband, or Pillars of Society”) drew particular attention. In the same production, Branislav Lečić played Consul Weigang and Anđelika Simić played Mrs. Linde, while the costumes were designed by Maja Mirković. For the role of Nora she received the “Branka and Mlađa Veselinović” award in 2016, as described further in the awards section.

Audiences remember her as an actress who plays both classical and contemporary female characters with equal conviction. The jury of the JDP Foundation judged that she had brought to life, on the stage of that theatre, one of the most complex female roles in the classical and contemporary repertoire.

Television and Film Roles After 2000

In the remake of the cult series “Pozorište u kući,” broadcast in 2007 on Radio Television of Serbia, she played Olga Petrović. Her husband Rodoljub was played by Dragan Bjelogrlić. The series brought a well-known family story back to the audience’s attention in a new form.

Director Đorđe Kadijević entrusted her with the role of Queen Natalija Obrenović in the drama series “Poslednja audijencija,” which deals with the life of Nikola Pašić. In Stevan Filipović’s drama “Šišanje,” she played Inspector Lidija, and in the popular series “Folk” she played the teacher Slađa. According to the available sources, the year of the film “Šišanje” differs between sources (2008 and 2010).

South Korean director Sang Man Kim gave her the role of Melina in the film “Tenor.” In 2014, together with colleagues Boris Milivojević and Dragan Bjelogrlić, she filmed the drama “Monument to Michael Jackson,” directed by Darko Lungulov, in which she played Ljubinka. She also appeared in the film “Balkan Is Not Dead,” in the role of Eleni.

After several years away from television, she returned in the role of Frau Štilike in the historical drama “Proleće na poslednjem jezeru” (“Spring at the Last Lake”). Since 2021 she has played Petra Lakić in the crime series “Kljun” (“Awake”), produced by United Media and directed by Jelena Gavrilović and Uroš Tomić. The series also stars Ivana Vuković, Stefan Vukić, Ljiljana Blagojević and Mićko Ljubičić. “Kljun” was the first series from Serbia in the official selection of the Canneseries festival in Cannes, where it won the Audience Award. Nataša Tapušković also appeared in the film “Komedija na tri sprata” (“Comedy on Three Floors”).

Greatest Achievements

The greatest successes of Nataša Tapušković’s career are several works that left a mark on Serbian cinema and theatre. They include:

• Danica in the film “Barking at the Stars” (1998) – the role that made her famous with domestic audiences;
• Sabaha in the film “Life Is a Miracle” (2004) – the leading female role in Kusturica’s film;
• Olga Petrović in the series “Pozorište u kući” (2007) – a role in the remake of a cult series;
• Lidija in the film “Šišanje” – an inspector in Stevan Filipović’s drama;
• Nora at JDP – the role that earned her the “Branka and Mlađa Veselinović” award;
• Petra Lakić in the series “Kljun” (2021) – a part in a series honored in Cannes.

Private Life

Nataša Tapušković is married to Vuk Tapušković, a tennis coach. They met when she was 27. In one interview she said that when they shook hands for the first time, she thought she was meeting her future husband. They have two daughters.

She lives and works in Belgrade. She is rarely seen at public events and seems to prefer to keep her privacy to herself. For her, family is, as she has stressed more than once, something she long sought, because she grew up without a full household. Her mother later moved to Belgrade as well.

Interesting Facts

• Her first performance came in kindergarten, when she recited the poem “Sunce” at the Dom omladine.
• She prepared for the FDU entrance exam in just 27 days.
• In 1994, her entrance exams for acting and literature fell in the same hour.
• Early in her career she performed as Nataša Šolak, so she is credited under her maiden name in “Barking at the Stars” and “Life Is a Miracle.”
• She trained in ballet from the age of five, and later in folk dance, and says she feels freer in dance than in acting.
• She served on the JDP Foundation jury that gave the award to Vojin Ćetković for 2014.

Awards and Recognition

The best-known recognition of Nataša Tapušković is the “Branka and Mlađa Veselinović” award of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre Foundation for the best acting achievement of 2015. She received it for the role of Nora in the play “Šta se dogodilo nakon što je Nora napustila muža ili Stubovi društava.” The award was presented on 3 April 2016, at the celebration of JDP’s 68th anniversary. Before her, earlier recipients of this award were Nebojša Glogovac, Aleksandra Janković and Vojin Ćetković.

According to some sources, Nataša Tapušković has received three annual JDP awards in total. However, the available sources do not reliably state the details of the remaining awards, so they cannot be confirmed here. The film “Life Is a Miracle,” in which she acted, won several nominations and awards at international festivals, and the series “Kljun” won the Audience Award in Cannes.

Legacy and Influence

Nataša Tapušković remains in the audience’s memory above all as Danica, a symbol of first love from one of the most popular Serbian films of the 1990s. Twenty-five years later, “Barking at the Stars” is still screened and quoted, and her role remains recognizable to older and younger generations alike.

Her work at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre shows a different side of her career. On stage she has played roles that earned her the recognition of colleagues and the profession. At the same time, she is an example of an actress who, at the hardest moment, during the bombing in 1999, was ready to turn to a different life, yet returned to her work and her country. Today, as part of the JDP ensemble and the series “Kljun,” she remains active on the stage and on television.

Biography – Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Nataša Tapušković?

Nataša Tapušković is a Serbian stage, film and television actress. She is best known for playing Danica in “Barking at the Stars” and Sabaha in “Life Is a Miracle.” She is a member of the ensemble of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre.

When and where was Nataša Tapušković born?

She was born on 27 August 1975 in Kruševac, in what was then the SFR Yugoslavia.

What is Nataša Tapušković’s maiden name?

Her maiden name is Šolak. Early in her career she performed as Nataša Šolak, which is why she is credited under that name in some films.

In which film did Nataša Tapušković play Danica?

She played Danica Janković in the 1998 film “Barking at the Stars,” directed by Zdravko Šotra. Her screen partner was Dragan Mićanović.

What role did she play in “Life Is a Miracle”?

In Kusturica’s film “Life Is a Miracle,” she played Sabaha, a Bosniak hostage with whom the main character Luka, played by Slavko Štimac, falls in love.

Where did Nataša Tapušković graduate in acting?

She graduated in acting from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade in 1998, in the class of Professor Vladimir Jevtović.

Is Nataša Tapušković a member of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre?

Yes, she is a member of the ensemble of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre in Belgrade, where she has played a number of important roles and received the “Branka and Mlađa Veselinović” award for the role of Nora.

Is Nataša Tapušković married and does she have children?

She is married to Vuk Tapušković, a tennis coach, and has two daughters. She rarely shares her family life with the public.

Which series has Nataša Tapušković appeared in?

She has appeared in the series “Pozorište u kući,” “Poslednja audijencija,” “Folk” and “Kljun,” as well as in the historical drama “Proleće na poslednjem jezeru.”

Conclusion

Nataša Tapušković is one of the recognizable actresses of the Serbian stage and screen. Coming from Kruševac, she made her way through ballet and folk dance to the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, and her first major roles in “Barking at the Stars” and “Life Is a Miracle” brought her wide popularity. Roles in the series “Pozorište u kući” and “Kljun” strengthened her standing on television, and her long career at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre earned her the recognition of the profession. Family and privacy have remained important to her, so the public knows her primarily through her work.