Draginja Ružić

Draginja Ružić (2 October 1834 – 6 September 1905) was a Serbian actress, and a member of the ensemble of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad. She is considered to be the first Serbian professional actress.

Early life and education Draginja Popović was born in Vranjevo (today's Novi Bečej) on 2 October 1834. She was the daughter of the priest Luka Popović and his wife Milica, a housewife. Her education was limited to finishing elementary school, but she got a good education within the family and gained working habits from them. and Lazina's wife, Maria Adelsheim-Popovic, this "artistic dynasty" for some time constituted almost half of the Serbian National Theater 's Novi Sad and represented a powerful and highly influential family group, not only in the actor's family, but also in the establishment of the Society for the Serbian National Theater.

Career Ružić was the first child in her family to leave home. In 1860, she moved to Serbian Čanad, then also part of the Austrian Empire, and entered the amphitheater there. After that, until 1865, she performed at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. The second break was between 1872 and 1873 when she played for a short time at the National Theater in Belgrade. She was noticed from the beginning of her acting career, and over her career she played a diverse array of characters, in comic, serious, and singing roles. It is believed that she played around 350 roles. Modern critics rank her with the highest-level artists in the world. She unexpectedly withdrew from the scene in 1898, at age 64, and with a career of 38 years. Her last role was Jelisaveta in Šiler's piece Spletka i ljubav, played on 27 June 1898. She retired on 13 August 1898.

Personal life Draginja married her colleague, an actor of the Serbian National Theater, Dimitrije Ružić.

Ružić died on 6 September 1905 in Vukovar, at the age of 71. From Vukovar, her remains were later transferred to Novi Sad and buried at Almaška Cemetery, in the same vault with her husband Dimitri. A street in Novi Sad is named after Draginja Ružić.