Jerzy Oskar Stuhr Biography: Wife, Net Worth, Age, Height, Movies, Awards, Ethnicity

Jerzy Oskar Stuhr, known as Jerzy Oskar Stuhr, was a major figure in Polish cinema, theatre, and culture.

An actor, director, screenwriter, and pedagogue, he played unforgettable roles in the Cinema of Moral Anxiety (Kieślowski, Zanussi, Falk) and later became a face of post-1989 Polish comedy with the cult trilogy Kiler, Fuks, and Chłopaki nie płaczą. In his later years, he directed acclaimed stage productions and films.

Profile

• Full Name: Jerzy Oskar Stuhr
• Stage Name: Jerzy Stuhr
• Born: 18 April 1947
• Died: 9, July 2024 (Aged: 77 years old)
• Birthplace: Kraków, Poland
• Nationality: Polish
• Occupation: Actor, Film and Theatre Director, Screenwriter, Pedagogue
• Height: 1.68 m
• Parents: Leopold Stuhr, and Maria Stuhr
• Siblings: 1
• Spouse: Barbara Kóska-Stuhr (m. 1971- 2024)
• Children: Maciej Stuhr, and Marianna Stuhr
• Grandchildren: Matylda Stuhr, Tadeusz Stuhr and others
• Relationship: Married
• Net Worth: $6 million to $8 million

Early Life and Education

Jerzy Oskar Stuhr was born on 18 April 1947 in Kraków into an intellectual family of Austrian and German roots that had settled in Poland before the war. His father Leopold was a prosecutor, his mother Maria worked in administration.

After the war the family remained in Kraków, where Jerzy attended the prestigious Bartłomiej Nowodworski High School. He initially studied Polish philology at Jagiellonian University (graduating in 1970) and simultaneously, almost on a dare, enrolled in the acting department of the State Drama School (PWST), from 1972 AST), which he finished with honours in 1972.

Ethnically he was Polish with partial Austrian-German ancestry on his father’s side and Jewish ancestry on his maternal grandmother’s side. In terms of religion, he was raised Roman Catholic and remained a practising believer throughout his life.

Career

Jerzy Stuhr began his career immediately after graduation at Kraków’s Stary Theatre, where he worked for over twenty years under legendary directors such as Konrad Swinarski and Andrzej Wajda. His film breakthrough came in the late 1970s with Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Amator (Camera Buff, 1979), for which he won Best Actor at Berlin and Moscow and Wajda’s Wodzirej (1978).

Throughout the 1980s he created iconic roles in Kieślowski’s Dekalog 10, Zanussi’s Persona non grata and his own directorial debut Seksmisja (1984), one of the biggest Polish box-office hits ever.

The 1990s and 2000s brought a new chapter: Stuhr became the king of Polish popular comedy with Kiler (1997), Kiler-ów 2-óch (1999), Fuks (1999) and Chłopaki nie płaczą (2000), while simultaneously directing his own deeply personal films Historie miłosne (1997, Special Jury Prize in Berlin), Tydzień z życia mężczyzny (1999) and Duże zwierzę (2000, from an unpublished Kieślowski script).

He was rector of the Kraków Drama School (1990–1996 and 2002–2008) and professor who educated several generations of Polish actors.

Jerzy Stuhr worked almost until the very end despite serious health problems (heart attack in 2011, throat cancer in 2021). His last major roles were in the series The King of Warsaw (2020) and the film The Getaway King (2021), while on stage he directed and starred in Contradiction at the Polonia Theatre in 2023–2024.

He received the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Golden Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis and dozens of festival lifetime awards.

Social Media

Jerzy Stuhr has no social media account.

Personal Life

Jerzy Stuhr married violinist Barbara Kóska on 1 October 1971; they remained together for 53 years until his death. The couple had two children: actor Maciej Stuhr and painter and costume designer Marianna Stuhr. He was a devoted husband and father, often stating that family was his greatest pride.

Despite fame, he lived modestly in Kraków, loved mountains, classical music and was known for his warmth and ironic sense of humour. After surviving a heart attack in 2011 and cancer treatment in 2021–2022, he died on 9 July 2024 in Kraków after a long illness.

Filmography

• Wodzirej (1978)
• Amator (Camera Buff) (1979)
• Spokój (1980)
• Wojna światów – następne stulecie (1981)
• Seksmisja (1984)
• O-bi, O-ba. Koniec cywilizacji (1985)
• Dekalog X (1989)
• Kiler (1997)
• Historie miłosne (1997, also director)
• Duże zwierzę (2000, director)
• The Getaway King (2021)

Net Worth

Jerzy Stuhr had an estimated net worth of $6 million to $8 million, at the time of his death in 2024. His wealth came from decades of leading roles in film and theatre, directing fees, royalties from cult comedies, teaching salaries as professor and former rector, and book sales.