Serbian singer and actress Olivera Katarina dies aged 86

BELGRADE - Serbian singer and actress Olivera Katarina died on Tuesday aged 86.

Born Olivera Petrovic in Belgrade in 1940, Olivera Katarina was one of the most popular actresses and singers in the former Yugoslavia in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

After graduating from the Faculty of Law, she studied at the Theatre Academy and made her debut at the National Theatre in 1962 in the play Kostana.

She made numerous appearances in Yugoslav and foreign films in the 1960s and 1970s.

Her most famous film role was in Aleksandar Petrovic's I Even Met Happy Gypsies (1967), which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

She returned to Cannes in 2017 for the film's 50th anniversary and performed the song Djelem, Djelem.

As a singer, she recorded numerous singles and albums and performed in many concerts, releasing her final album in 1984, after which she withdrew from public life.

In 2005, Olivera Katarina collaborated with Marina Abramovic on the Balkan Epic project and made a brief return to acting in Uros Stojanovic's Charleston & Vendetta in 2008.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Minister of Culture Nikola Selakovic and Deputy PM Ivica Dacic have extended condolences over her passing.