– August 26, 1980) was a Polish-Estonian lyric coloratura soprano opera singer who appeared in classical American and Mexican sound films during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

In 1927, while performing in Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad), she managed to clandestinely cross the international border into Estonia, where she was reunited with her father.

Korjus continued her concert career as a soprano in Germany and was eventually engaged by the Berlin State Opera in 1933.

[3] Her operatic appearances and recordings quickly propelled her to the forefront of European singers and earned her the nicknames "The Berlin Nightingale" and "Gorgeous Korjus".

Irving Thalberg, head of production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, heard her recordings and signed her to a ten-year film contract, sight unseen.

[5] Her sole film for MGM was The Great Waltz (1938), which Frank Nugent of The New York Times called "a showcase for Miliza Korjus" while also noting her resemblance to Mae West.

[6] In 1952,[7] she married Walter Shector (1925–1973),[8] a Canadian-born physician, and retired from the concert stage, preferring to concentrate on making records.