Zuzana Mauréry

Mauréry comes from a family of musicians. Her father, Pavol Mauréry, was an opera soloist in the Slovak National Theatre for many years, while her mother, Darina Markovičová, was a choir soprano at the New Scene / Nová scéna theatre. She was born as their only child, during the period of normalization, shortly after the military intervention of the Warsaw pact in Czechoslovakia. Thanks to her parents' profession, Mauréry grew up being financially secure. In her own words: "They frequently went to the West, which meant my clothes were quite western. I was the first in my school to wear so-called zipper pants". While attending a middle school for German speakers, she also took dance and piano lessons. Musicals fascinated her by their unusual form, though the singing itself did not. About her studies, Mauréry has said: "I spent my childhood locked up in my room, while my parents had their practice session – which was basically non-stop. I wanted to become a stewardess and study languages, which is why I started learning English alongside German". However, her parents persuaded her to study informatics at the nearby Juraj Hronec Grammar school in Bratislava instead, which was mainly focused on mathematical physics. Despite her focus on natural sciences, Mauréry successfully finished her studies in acting at the Academy of Performing Arts (VŠMU). She studied alongside such well-known actors as Roman Pomajbo, Peter Mankovecký, Dagmar Bruckmayerová, Zuzana Vačková, and Silvia Vargová. Mauréry's filmography consists of a number of films, both short and feature-length, and various television productions. She has acted in various theatrical productions as well. Her first performance on a theatre stage was in 1985 at Reduta (until 1993 the theatrical studio of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava). She performed alongside her father in the opera Iolanta by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. She has also performed in several musical plays and has made vocal contributions to recordings of other performers. She is the co-author of the movie Jsem větší a lepší (2007), which combines animated and live-action scenes, together with Martin Duda. The film got a positive reception at various movie festivals, including an international nomination from the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the best student film of foreign origin. A different short movie, Almost There (2014), was made by Nonchalant, an alias of Mauréry. It won the prize for the best ensemble cast at the 13th Annual International Film Festival 24-hour Film Race, held in Brooklyn. Almost There featured such names as Gregor Hološka, Peter Kadlečík, Michal Jánoš, Anna Rakovská, Juraj Šimko, Mária Breiner-Mačáková, and Viera Frajtová.