Milena Zupančič, a leading Slovenian stage and film actress, died Aug. 15, 2026, at 79, Blic reported.
At Ljubljana’s Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television, Zupančič played Claire in a graduation production of Jean Genet’s The Maids. She completed her studies in 1969 and joined Ljubljana City Theatre that year. In 1970, she won the Borštnik Award, a Slovenian theatre prize, for playing Caetana in Andrej Hieng’s The Conqueror.
In 1973, Zupančič won the Silver Arena for best supporting actress at the Pula Film Festival for playing Meta in Matjaž Klopčič’s Cvetje v jeseni. She later won consecutive Golden Arenas for best actress: in 1976 for playing Tončka Pretnar in Idealist and in 1977 for playing Karolina Žašler in Matjaž Klopčič’s Vdovstvo Karoline Žašler.
Zupančič joined the Slovenian National Theatre Drama Ljubljana in 1979 and won a Borštnik Award in 1981 for playing Lenka in Rudi Šeligo’s The Wedding. She returned to the company in 1989 and won another Borštnik Award that year for playing Lidija in Dušan Jovanović’s The Wall, the Lake.
Zupančič received the Prešeren Award for lifetime achievement in 1993 and the Borštnik Ring, Slovenia’s highest theatre honor, in 1999. In 2025, she received the Marija Vera Lifetime Achievement Award.
