Astrid Lepa

Astrid Lepa (April 7, 1924 – November 30, 2015) was an Estonian stage, television, voice, and film actress, screenwriter, and television director whose career began in the 1940s and ended shortly before her death, spanning over sixty years.

Astrid Lepa was born Astrid Lepler in Keila, Harju County to Eduard and Marta Lepler (née Beekman). Her father was a locksmith. She had one younger sister, Ester Lepa (1928–2013), who would go on to become a prominent singer (soprano) and music and vocal pedagogue. The family would change their surname to Lepa in 1936. She attended schools in Tallinn and graduated Tallinn 9th Secondary School in 1942, during World War II. From 1942 until 1946, she studied acting at the Estonian Drama Theatre, and from 1948 until 1950 studied at Tallinn Conservatory (now, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre).

In 1952, Astrid Lepa was the artistic director of the Nõmme Cultural House and briefly worked as the administrator and director of the Pioneer cinema in Tallinn.