Her large blue eyes captivated many. At times she was cheerful, outspoken, and energetic, and then, without warning, a strange sadness and melancholy could be seen on her face and in her movements. One of the most successful and, according to many, the most beautiful Yugoslav actresses of all time, Špela Rozin, was born on January 31, 1943, in Ljubljana.
She first appeared in a film at the age of only 15, and from then on she acted in 44 feature films, many of which were made in Italy—comedies, crime films, adventure films, westerns, peplum films, and others. She received several awards: the Gran Simpatico award in 1969 for the film Pleasurable Nights (Le piacevoli notti), made in 1966, in which her co-star was Vittorio Gassman; and the Critics’ Award in 1970 for the leading role in Salerno’s film The Choice (Izbor). In Italy, she was also named the Best Foreign Actress. She also acted in American and Polish films. However, little is known about that period of her career abroad, perhaps because she used different stage names.
During the 1970s, historical films were often made in Italy, and the beautiful actress easily fulfilled the wishes of local filmmakers. Her beauty fit perfectly into scenes of ancient Rome or as a gentle contrast to rough cowboys in Spaghetti Westerns. It was there that she met the then-unknown Clint Eastwood. In the films in which she played leading roles, he appeared as an extra. She had to learn horseback riding, shooting with a pistol, handling a bow and arrow, and even performing stunt jumps from one horse to another. In 1969, Špela made her last film in Italy, Robin Hood, in which she played the leading role of Princess Marian.
Already in the 1970s, Špela Rozin returned to Yugoslavia, where she appeared in some anthology films such as The Battle of Neretva, The Scent of Quinces, The Woman with a Landscape, and others. Her attractiveness and natural presence in front of the camera brought her many acting engagements. She particularly stood out in The Strange Girl, directed by Jovan Živanović, based on the novel by Grozdana Olujić, portraying a character who at the time was regarded as the prototype of the “modern city girl,” struggling with her own capricious nature and the hardships of her love life. Špela was also a strong opponent of appearing nude on screen, so she has very few erotic scenes, unlike her Yugoslav contemporaries Beba Lončar and Marija Baksa.
Because of her acting career, she traveled all over the world and speaks as many as eight languages. She is married to the well-known painter Ismar Mujezinović, whom she met during the filming of 19 Girls and a Sailor (19 devojaka i mornar). At the beginning of the 1990s, they moved from Sarajevo to Ljubljana, and today they spend most of their time in the small town of Lovrečica, near Umag.
