Lilia Skala

Lilia Skala (née Sofer; 28 November 1896 – 18 December 1994) was an Austrian and American architect and actress known for her role in the film Lilies of the Field, for which she received critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination. During her career, Skala was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Before Skala decided to be an actress, she practiced architecture as a profession. She was one of the first women architects in Austria and was the first female member of the Austrian Association of Engineers and Architects. She graduated from the University of Dresden Summa cum Laude; the institution is now known as the Technical University of Dresden, located in Germany.

Her life was the subject of the eponymous one-woman play Lilia!, written and performed by her granddaughter Libby Skala.

Early life and education Skala was born Lilia Sofer in Vienna. Her mother, Katharina Skala, was Roman Catholic, and her father, Julius Sofer, was Jewish and worked as a manufacturer's representative for the Waldes Koh-i-noor Company. She was one of the first women to graduate in architecture and engineering from the University of Dresden, then practiced architecture professionally in Vienna.

In the late 1930s, she was forced to flee her Nazi-occupied homeland with her husband, Louis Erich Skala, and their two young sons. (Lilia and Erich adopted the non-Jewish sounding surname of Lilia's mother.) Skala and her husband managed to escape (at different times) from Austria and eventually settled in the United States.

About a year after the birth of Skala's son, she enrolled in acting lessons and renewed her interest in theatre.

Death and legacy Skala died in 1994 in Bay Shore, New York of natural causes at age 98. A collection of architectural drawings that she had made as an architecture student at the University of Dresden from 1915 to 1920 was donated to the International Archives of Women in Architecture by her sons, Peter and Martin Skala. The collection was part of Skala's belongings when she fled the Nazis in 1939.

Personal life Skala was a Christian Scientist. She was introduced to the religion in Vienna in the 1920s.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1931 Purpur und Waschblau Leonore von Cadour - Hofdame der Fürstin 1931 Man braucht kein Geld Uncredited1933 Madame wünscht keine Kinder Uncredited1936 Girls' Dormitory Fräulein Hell 1936 Flores de Nice 1937 Unentschuldigte Stunde 1953 Call Me Madam Grand Duchess Sophie 1963 Lilies of the Field Mother Maria 1965 Ship of Fools Frau Hutten 1967 Caprice Madame Piasco 1968 Charly Dr. Anna Straus 1976 Deadly Hero Mrs. Broderick 1977 Roseland Rosa (The Peabody) 1979 Heartland Mrs. Landauer 1981 The End of August Mlle. Reisz 1983 Flashdance Hanna Long 1983 Testament Fania 1987 House of Games Dr. Littauer 1990 Men of Respect Lucia