Actress Libuše Šafránková, known for her iconic portrayal of Cinderella, dies aged 68

Actress Libuše Šafránková has died at the age of 68, CNN Prima News reported on Wednesday afternoon, citing her son Josef Abrhám. Šafránková had undertaken an operation at the General Faculty Hospital in Prague on June 7, the date of her birthday, news site Blesk.cz reports.

Libuše Šafránková played in several of films, television series and theatre plays during her career. Her breakthrough came in the 1973 movie “Three Nuts for Cinderella” (Tři oříšky pro Popelku), where she portrayed the main heroine of the iconic fairy-tale film that has kept its place in Czech popular memory for nearly 50 years.

Considered one of Czechia’s most beautiful actresses, Šafránková also acted in internationally acclaimed movies, such as the 1996 Oscar winner for best foreign language film “Kolya”, as well as “The Elementary School” (Obecná škola), which received an Oscar nomination in the same category.