Actress, Screenwriter, Film Director. She was considered by many to be one of the most popular Georgian and Soviet actresses of all time and which earned her the nickname of the 'Mary Pickford of the USSR.' She will be best remembered for her role as 'Manana' in the film, "In The Courtyard" (1956). The comedy-romance which was directed by Rezo Chkheidze, and also starred Sofiko Chiaureli, and Giorgi Shengelaia, tells the story of everyday people who live in a neighbourhood in Tbilisi, Georgia. She was born Leila Mikhailovna Abashidze in Tbilisi, Georgia, to a father who like thousands of others were victims of dictator Joseph Stalin's Great Purge (repression) in the Soviet Union in 1937. She was educated locally and became interested in acting as a child. She was discovered by accident. She went to her first audition as a child but at the movie casting, she was not hired. After leaving the building she accidentally ran into the film director of the movie she had auditioned for and he took an immediate liking to her and offered her the role. She made her actual film debut shortly thereafter in the role of 'Kato' alongside Georgian actress Nato Vachnadze in the adventure film, "Qadjana" (or "Kajana") in 1941. She later attended the prestigious Rustaveli Theatrical Institute where she furthered her acting lessons before graduating from there in 1951. Besides "Qadjana" (or "Kajana") (1941), and "In Our Courtyard" (1956), her many other film credits include, "Golden Path" (1945), "Cradle Of Poet" (1947), "Keto And Kote" (1948), "Spring In Sakeni" (1951), "The Dragonfly" (1954), "The Scrapper" (1956), "Where Is Your Happiness Mzia?" (1959), "Maia Tskneteli" (1959), "I Shall Dance" (1963), "Khevisberi Gocha" (1964), "Wreck" (1965), "Meeting Past" (1966, for which she was named the Leningrad Film Festival's Best Actress in 1968), "Meeting In Mountains" (1966), "Anticipation" (1969, which she also starred in, directed and wrote), "The Right Hand Of the Grand Master" (Episode One) (1969), "The Right Hand Of The Grand Master" (Episode Two) (1970), "Walking In Tbilisi" (1976), "Cinema" (1977), "Tbilisi-Paris-Tbilisi (1980, which she also starred in, directed and wrote), "Commotion" (1986), and "Zvaraki" (1990). Her many different roles which featured comedies and historical dramas brought her both popularity and some that were even frowned upon. For her dedication to Georgian film, she was the recipient of several awards and honors including, Meritorious Artist of Georgia in 1958, Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1961, People's Artist of Georgia in 1965, People's Artist of Chechnya-Ingushetia in 1964, and winner of two world film festivals that were held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1997. Besides, winning Best Actress at the Leningrad Film Festival in 1968, she was also given an honorary star in front of the Rustaveli Cinema on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, Georgia. She continued to work until her health deteriorated. She suffered a stroke on April 8, 2018, and was taken to a local hospital. She passed away later that day at the age of 88, from what her doctors called an ischemic stroke of the brain. She was buried in the Saburtalo Pantheon Memorial Cemetery in Tbilisi, Georgia, where many other famous Georgian personalities including writers, actors, actresses, singers, and politicians, are laid to rest.