Olga Ivanović | Origin of Street Names

Olga Ivanović (1921 - 2001) was a Serbian and Yugoslavian actress, best known for her portrayal of the famous grumpy mother-in-law, Snežana Nikolajević, in the cult TV series "Pozorište u kući" ("The Theater in the House").

She was born in Horgoš, the northern gateway of the former Kingdom of SHS. From an early age, she was eccentric and had a strong personality. Even as a young girl, she was drawn to the theater and stage performance, but, in her own words, she never believed that acting could be a serious and professional occupation.

In that regard, Olga Ivanović's ambitions and life plans were connected to studying medicine and pursuing a medical career. At the dawn of World War II, in the fall of 1940, she enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade. However, the April War and the subsequent occupation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia interrupted her studies.

Although she only completed one semester of medical school, during the war, she worked as a nurse in an improvised military hospital in Aleksinac. After witnessing various horrors, she started to doubt that a medical profession was the right path for her and decided to "turn a new leaf" in her education upon returning to Belgrade.

The path to becoming a professional actress was not easy at all. After several unsuccessful auditions for the Academy of Dramatic Arts, when she had almost given up on an acting career and considered returning to medicine, she succeeded.

The rest is history. Olga Ivanović played dozens of theatrical roles in works by Shakespeare, Havel, and Krleža on the stages of the Belgrade Drama Theater and the newly formed Atelje 212.

However, the role that made her famous throughout Yugoslavia and, in a way, determined her entire forty-year career was the renowned role of Snežana Nikolajević in one of the most popular TV series of the 1970s and 1980s, "Pozorište u kući".

Interestingly and surprisingly, despite her great popularity during the airing of the series and her masterful portrayal of the strict, severe, somewhat arrogant, and cynical Mrs. Nikolajević, Olga Ivanović did not receive any notable roles on the small screen after "The Theater in the House."

Perhaps it was her acting destiny that Olga Ivanović remained remembered as the legendary "Nikolajevićka" until the end of her life.

She passed away in Belgrade at the age of 81. In honor of Olga Ivanović, the Aleksinac Theater Festival's award bears her name, as well as a street in the Batajnica neighborhood of Zemun.