Olympe Bradna

Antoinette Olympe Bradna (12 August 1920 – 5 November 2012) was a French dancer and actress, who emigrated to the United States where she lived for the rest of her life.

Early years Bradna was born in a dressing room in the Olympic Theatre in Paris, and her full name was Antoinette Olympe Bradna. Her father, Joseph Bradna, was a Bohemian Czech and her mother, Jana Bradna, was Austrian German. (Another source says that her mother was French.) (Jana Bradna had been an opera singer before she joined her husband in the circus.) Her aunt Ella Bradna also was in the circus, as an equestrienne. An item in a newspaper in 1936 reported that Bradna "followed a line of trained dogs on the stage in France, when she was only 18 months old."

Dancing Bradna appeared at 18 months of age with her parents, who were world-famous bare back riders. By the time she was 8, Bradna "had attracted so much attention that agents were anxious to book her as a 'single.'" She was with that group for eight months and danced at the French Casino in New York City for eight more months. In 1935, she was one of seven young women "named by Paramount ... as possible screen stars of the future." She was one of six newcomers selected by Paramount in December 1935 to appear in a planned musical. Her screen debut came in Three Cheers for Love (1936). In 1936, she appeared in College Holiday. Later, branching out from musicals to more serious films, she had roles in The Last Train from Madrid and Souls at Sea. Together, she and Douglas would have four children, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. They were married for over seventy years, with Douglas passing away in February, 2012, just nine months prior to Olympe's death.

Death Bradna died 5 November 2012, in Stockton, California, at age 92. She was survived by a son, two daughters, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1933 Roger la Honte Suzanne Laroque 1934 Flofloche Reine 1936 Three Cheers for Love Frenchy College Holiday Felice L'Hommedieu 1937 The Last Train from Madrid Maria Ronda High, Wide, and Handsome Souls at Sea Babsie 1938 Stolen Heaven Steffi Say It in French Julie 1939 The Night of Nights Marie Alyce O'Farrell 1940 South of Pago Pago Malia 1941 Knockout Angela Grinnelli Highway West Myra Abbott International Squadron Jeanette (final film role)