The mention of her name evokes memories of the 1970s and British pop/rock of the period, even though she wasn't primarily a singer -- Rula Lenska, born Rosa-Marie Leopoldnya Lubienska in England to a family of Polish descent, was at the center of pop culture of the period and even managed to become a kind of media icon in America. She aspired to be an actress from an early age, and attended drama school, also shortening her name -- by her own account in an interview on the Rock Follies website, her father used to call her Zlota Kula, meaning "little golden ball," referring to her curls as a young girl, and Kula got intermingled with Rosa and became Rula, while Lenska was a shortening of Lubienska. She made her debut in a Francis Durbridge thriller on London's West End. Her big break, first on British television and later on American public television, came when she was cast as Q in the series Rock Follies, which dealt with an all-woman rock group and had music written and recorded by Andy Mackay, of Roxy Music. Although her co-star Julie Covington was the musical center of attention, Lenska's looks and exoticism were a major part of the series' visual appeal, and she also sang, if not on Covington's level. Strangely enough, her own singing voice is fairly deep, similar to Marlene Dietrich or, in more recent times, Nico, while in the series and the group, she sang harmony. She was good enough to later work with Mackay's group the Explorers in the studio, and the Rock Follies album replaced Led Zeppelin's latest opus at the top of the U.K. charts in 1976. It was followed by a second album, Rock Follies of 77. Since then, Lenska has concentrated primarily on acting, and is probably most well known in the United States for a series of Alberta VO5 commercials in which her name was also featured prominently, making her one of those people who was "famous for being famous." ~ Bruce Eder