Yul Brynner was a Russian-born acclaimed actor of stage and movies. Yul Brynner is best known for his role of the Siamese King in the movie “The King and I”. He is also remembered in the role of Rameses II in the film “The Ten Commandments”. Yul Brynner was often admired by many for his shaven head and his sharp, rich voice. This proved to be a personal trademark of the legendary actor.

Yul Brynner was born in Vladivostok, Sakhalin, Russia on the 11th July 1920. His father’s name is Boris Brynner and his mother’s name is Marusya Blagovidova. Yul’s father Boris was of Swiss-Mongolian ancestry who worked as a mining engineer. His mother Marusya was a housewife. Brynner’s mother brought him up along with his sister Vera as a single mother after Brynner's father had left the the family when Yul was a child. Later the family moved to Harbin, China.

Yul Brynner and his sister got an opportunity to educate themselves at a school run by the YMCA in Harbin. In 1934, Brynner’s mother took her children to France. During their stay in France Yul Brynner became and adept French speaker, a skill well employed during the Second World War when Brynner worked as a radio announcer in French language for the US broadcasting propaganda to occupied France.

During his twenties, Yul Brynner stepped into modeling and acting. Brynner is remembered for his role of King Mongkut of Siam in the classic Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical hit titled“The King and I”. The popularity of Yul Brynner's act can be seen in the fact that Yul played this role 4,626 times in his career.

Yul Brynner later acted in the movie version of the same play. Like the stage version Yul's performance was equally appriciated and fetched him an Academy Award in the category of Best Actor. Yul Brynner is one among only nine distinguished personalities who have the honour of winning an Academy and Tony Award for the same role. Yul Brynner went on to play the character of Rameses II in the hit movie “The Ten Commandments” opposite the leading star Charlton Heston. His performance in the films titled Anastasia opposite co-star Ingrid Bergman is also one of his most admired performances.

Yul Brynner later acted in movies like the Biblical epic Solomon and Sheba in 1959, as Solomon, The Magnificent Seven in 1960, and Westworld in 1973. He co-starred with Marlon Brando in the movie titled “Morituri”. Yul Brynner also co-starred with Katharine Hepburn in the movie titled “The Madwoman of Chaillot” and William Shatner in a movie version of “The Brothers Karamazov”. In 1976, Yul featured with Barbara Bouchet in the movie titled “Death Rage". His last film appearance was in 1976 the sequel to Westworld entitled “Futureworld”. During his life Brynner took active interest in photography and writing. He was also an accomplished singer and guitarist.

Yul Brynner was married 4 times however the first three resulted in divorce. Yul’s first marriage was with actress Virginia Gilmore (1944 – 1960). Brynner's second wife was a Chilean model Doris Kleiner (1960 – 1967). Yul’s third wife was Jacqueline de Croisset (1971 – 1981). In 1983 he married Malaysian born dancer Kathy Lee.

On the 10th October 1985, Yul Brynner died of lung cancer in New York City, and is buried in the Saint Michel de Bois Aubry monastery in Vienne, France.