* En anglais uniquement
The mention of her name evokes memories of the 1970s and British pop/rock of the period, even though she wasn't primarily a singer --
Rula Lenska, born
Rosa-Marie Leopoldnya Lubienska in England to a family of Polish descent, was at the center of pop culture of the period and even managed to become a kind of media icon in America. She aspired to be an actress from an early age, and attended drama school, also shortening her name -- by her own account in an interview on the Rock Follies website, her father used to call her
Zlota Kula, meaning "little golden ball," referring to her curls as a young girl, and
Kula got intermingled with
Rosa and became
Rula, while
Lenska was a shortening of
Lubienska.
She made her debut in a Francis Durbridge thriller on London's West End. Her big break, first on British television and later on American public television, came when she was cast as Q in the series Rock Follies, which dealt with an all-woman rock group and had music written and recorded by
Andy Mackay, of
Roxy Music. Although her co-star
Julie Covington was the musical center of attention,
Lenska's looks and exoticism were a major part of the series' visual appeal, and she also sang, if not on
Covington's level. Strangely enough, her own singing voice is fairly deep, similar to
Marlene Dietrich or, in more recent times,
Nico, while in the series and the group, she sang harmony.
She was good enough to later work with
Mackay's group the Explorers in the studio, and the Rock Follies album replaced
Led Zeppelin's latest opus at the top of the U.K. charts in 1976. It was followed by a second album, Rock Follies of 77. Since then,
Lenska has concentrated primarily on acting, and is probably most well known in the United States for a series of Alberta VO5 commercials in which her name was also featured prominently, making her one of those people who was "famous for being famous." ~ Bruce Eder