Leona Paraminski

Leona Paraminski (born 22 August 1979) is a Croatian theatre, film and television actress. She grew up in Vrbovec, a town near Zagreb, and spent time traveling around Croatia and Germany as a child.

Biography

Leona became interested in the arts and in sports at an early age. Throughout elementary and high school she was part of a drama group; her first role was in a production of Cinderella. During these years she also sang in a choir, actively engaged in a dance group combining modern and classical dances, and was involved in karate and tennis.

By the age of 18 Leona was enrolled in the Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb (Zagreb Academy of Drama Arts). While she was still at university she won an award F.R.K.A. for best actress in the film Vinko na krovu. Her first appearance in a feature film was in the 1999 film Madonna (Bogorodica, directed by Neven Hitrec). She graduated in 2001. A year later she was honored with the most significant film award in Croatia – Golden Arena for Best Actress – at the 2002 Pula Film Festival in the feature film Winter in Rio (Prezimiti u Riu, 2002).