Portrait of the refugee, Hanja Kochansky, who escaped to a life with stars in Hollywood

Published: 6th May, 2011
by PAVAN AMARA

HER tranquil, black and white image hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.

But Hanja Kochansky was unaware that thousands of art-lovers passed her photograph every day until she returned to London last year from Hollywood.

The 68-year-old former actress, socialite and groundbreaking author, who lives in Stanmore Road, Barnsbury, has had an extraordinary life, meeting  glittering stars of stage and screen in five countries.

“I was overwhelmed to say the least,” she said, describing how she felt when she first saw her picture hanging in the gallery alongside such luminaries as the actress Sylvia Simms and the artist Georges Braque. “I remember posing for the photograph, but didn’t expect it to go anywhere much.” 

She can be seen in the gallery because in 1974 she posed for photographer Ida Kar, who specialised in portraits of artists and writers. Kar had embarked on a project involving taking studies of nudes at her Bayswater flat, and Ms Kochansky was one of her last subjects before the photographer died in September of that year. 

An exhibition of Kar’s work, which includes images of artists Bridget Riley and Henry Moore, is currently being staged at the gallery.

Ms Kochansky spoke to the Tribune this week about her colourful life – from her time as a refugee who fled Croatia in 1949, aged six, to life in apartheid South Africa and on to the Swinging Sixties in London, spiritual India, Rome’s Dolce Vita era and then Hollywood. 

In 1972, Ms Kochansky became one the first authors to explore the taboo world of female sexual fantasies. Her book of that title sold more than a quarter of a million copies.

“It was groundbreaking at the time,” said Ms Kochansky, sitting in the Essex Road patisserie where she is a regular. “Men and women would come over and thank me for it.”

She moved to Hollywood to try to make a career in the movies. By 1987 she had appeared in the Oscar-nominated La Famiglia, partied in Los Angeles, married American actor William Berger in Rome, and become a mother of two young children.

Now, she lives in relative anonymity in Islington, but one Hollywood memory haunts her to this day. “I remember in 1968 I got invited to Roman Polanski’s bachelor night,” she said. 

“It had been organised by a Playboy executive and suddenly it became this massive orgy. All of these men wanted me because they thought ‘Oh divorcée, she’ll be easy,’ which was the mentality of the time. But I was disgusted by it all, and sat downstairs feeling horrible. 

“The next day, I got all these marriage proposals from famous actors because I had apparently been ‘good’. It was a ridiculous double standard. But that kind of depicts a lot of what went on.”

She also has happier recollections. During Oscar week in 1987, she partied with a legend, and recalls “the best moment of my life”.

She said: “Gregory Peck was just the gentleman you imagine him to be. He was such a kind-hearted person. As soon as I entered he kissed me on the cheek and welcomed me in. I didn’t really know anyone, and he checked I was okay all night. You could not get a more lovely man. He was not a lech like some, he was so trustworthy and gentle. 

“As soon as I saw him I was ready to just drop on my knees and faint, but he was so warm I immediately felt at ease. He was just one of those really nice people.”

She remembers a young George Clooney during the 1990s, before he was catapulted to  super-stardom. “He was charming, but just another handsome boy,” she said. “You get them all the time in Hollywood. He was dating a well-connected actress called Talia Balsam at the time, and she got him all the right introductions.”

Now, a new chapter has dawned in her life. She has trained as an aromatherapist, and has swapped Tinseltown for Islington. “I’m so lucky to be back in Islington now,” she said. “It’s such a vibrant borough, so down to earth. 

“LA may claim to be a dream, but it’s not real. I am living in a very real place right now, with dreams being made all around me.”

Ida Kar, Bohemiam Photographer is at the National Portrait Gallery until June 19.