From Hollywood glamour to the Siberian gulag, the life of Lithuanian actor Un\u0117 Baye was as dramatic in life as it was on the stage<\/strong><\/p>\n Ur\u0161ul\u0117 Babickait\u0117-Grai\u010di\u016bnien\u0117<\/a> was born in the Lithuanian village of Laukmini\u0161kiai. She began acting and singing whilst in elementary school. In 1913, she moved to Russia, where she studied music, drama and opera at the St. Petersburg Imperial Conservatory. Dreaming of becoming a film star, Un\u0117 travelled to the United States of America in 1919, and there simplified her name to Un\u0117 Baye. She made her screen debut in 1922 and appeared in a handful of Paramount films until 1924. Unfortunately, because of a visual impairment, Un\u0117 Baye abandoned her dream of becoming a Hollywood star. Later, she focuses on theatre, appearing on stage in Chicago, Washington, DC and New York. In 1924 Un\u0117 married her cousin Vytautas Andrew Grai\u010di\u016bnas, and, in 1928, moved back to Europe with him. In London, she established the New Russian Theatre, and later the Anglo-American Company Troupe which performed in Paris theatres.<\/p>\n Whilst in Europe, Baye mixed with famous painters, actors, directors, critics and diplomats, such as\u00a0John Gielgud<\/a>,\u00a0Dolores Cassinelli<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jacques Deval<\/a> to name only a few. Un\u0117\u2019s career was put on hold when she fell seriously ill in 1931, and the following years were scarred by a string of unpleasant incidents. She was involved in two car accidents and underwent several surgeries. Whilst recuperating in Italy, Baye contemplated life as a Catholic nun. She joined the\u00a0Third Order of Saint Francis<\/a> but, despite her devotion, never became a fully-fledged nun.<\/p>\n In 1936, Un\u0117 Baye joined her husband in Lithuania. She committed herself to helping her homeland and devoted her energy to elevate Lithuanian theatre. Following her motto \u201cBeauty Is My Alpha and Omega\u201d, she began working at the\u00a0Lithuanian Riflemen\u2019s Union Theatre<\/a>. By the end of World War II, Un\u0117 and her husband had remained in Lithuania as it fell under three foreign occupations. In 1951, during the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the Grai\u010di\u016bnas\u2019 family was arrested, under the pretext that they were concealing the United States of America flag. The Soviet authorities sentenced Baye and her husband to five and ten years respectively; both were deported to gulags in Siberia…..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"