In modern Poland, the actress does not have her former status.
Actress Barbara Brylska, once shining on the screens of the entire Soviet Union, has now turned into a recluse who has to sell her beloved summer house for a pittance.
Barbara Brylska recently turned 85 years old. However, the dates for the star of "The Irony of Fate" turned out to be a bit confusing. Officially, the actress receives congratulations on June 5, but she was actually born on May 29.
"My birthday has already passed – May 29. But it happened that I was born during the war. My mother was late to inform the bureau that a child was born and did not pay the fine. She said I was born a week later to avoid paying. So I was born on the 29th, but my passport says June 5," she recalls.
Today, from the "all-Union" fame, there are only rare visits from her son and modest gifts from her grandchildren – flowers and sweet fruits.
"What can I want? Peace and health. Everything hurts," admits Barbara.
The life of the once brilliant artist has shrunk to the walls of her Warsaw apartment. She spoke about serious health problems that she associates with age. Brylska experiences constant pain, has become more forgetful, and a joint disease has led to the deformation of her fingers. She has dubbed her ailment peselosis (from the Polish word pesel – "date of birth").
"The disease twists my fingers. Each finger goes in a different direction. It hurts, and there's nothing to be done about it. Treatment is useless; it won't help. A friend named my illness peselosis – from the Polish word pesel, which means 'date of birth.' This is an old age disease. There are no medicines for peselosis. <...> The only remedy is death. So I live as I can," says the actress.
She confessed that her condition is gradually worsening and, according to doctors, it is already impossible to completely get rid of these problems. Brylska noted that she takes medication for blood pressure and diabetes, as well as vitamins, but believes that age-related changes are inevitable. Now the artist tries to adapt to her condition and live as actively as her health allows.
The very summer house, where the actress used to escape from the urban hustle for half a year, had to be sold recently. According to her, she used to live there for most of the year and returned to Warsaw in winter as conditions in the village became difficult.
Brylska noted that she loved gardening and taking care of plants, but over time she no longer had the strength to maintain the property. She also explained that the workers who helped with the household found permanent employment and could no longer continue working at the summer house. According to the actress, she sold the property for 150,000 zlotys (just over 35,000 euros) to acquaintances from her son's circle.
While other actors from "The Irony of Fate" have maintained their dignity and the genuine love of the public, Brylska has been left with nothing. She wanted peace but found herself alone in an empty apartment in Poland. According to her, many friends are no longer alive, and her closest people remain her son and grandchildren.
