Mira Furlan came to America in 1991 with her husband, film maker Goran Gajic. They left Yugoslavia after the civil war broke out and conditions became unbearable. This was a very difficult decision for her to make.

Interested in acting from a very early age, Mira has a very long list of acting credits. In fact, she has been called the "Meryl Streep of Yugoslavia", a term she finds very flattering. She looks at acting as "an opportunity to transform yourself into something completely different, and I always liked doing that." A few of her theater credits include: Helen, Three Sisters, Alpha-Beta (which earned her a Theater Critics Best Actress of the Season Award) and A Month in a Country (which won the Dubravko Dujsin Award -- the highest honor in Croatian theatre) in 1991. On television, she has appeared as a series star in Tales From Sarajevo, A Better Life, The Proud City and The Little Big Time. Her notable film credits include The Beauty of Sin, which earned her a Golden Arena Award (the Yugoslavian Oscar) for Best Leading Role.

Mira auditioned for the part of Delenn back in 1992 and has seen a great deal of transition in her character. Originally, Delenn was to be a half-masculine, half-feminine character. Fortunately for us, that idea was never implemented. In the past two years of the show, we have seen Delenn grow, increasing in stature and importance to the story line. With her transformation to half-human, half-Minbari during this past season, one can only imagine what is in store for Delenn (only Joe Straczynski knows for certain).

Having met Mira recently in Chicago, I find it a shame that her beauty is hidden by so much makeup. She seemed a bit shy and reserved, but that is probably because she is still not quite sure what to make of American fans as she takes to the convention circuit. She does enjoy talking with people about her character, though and has enjoyed working with such guest stars as Morgan Shepherd (Soul Hunter) and David Warner (Grail).

Mira is indeed a very talented actress and we are fortunate to have her as Ambassador Delenn. Despite all the makeup, she projects a solid character -- one of honor and integrity -- much like Mira Furlan.