She worked in theatre for 45 years and played more than 300 roles in theatre, film and on the radio and TV. Since her retirement, she often hosts TV and radio shows.

Belak holds the mirror to society and challenges viewers and listeners to voice their positions publicly, the Ježek Award judging panel said as it announced the winner today.

Belak has often played the roles of red-blooded, mostly realistic women who are warm and understand the human nature.

She is the 27th winner of the Ježek Award, which is given out by public broadcaster RTV Slovenija.

The award bears the name of Frane Miličinski - Ježek (1914-1988), a comedian, singer and writer who is considered one of most accomplished all-around artists in Slovenian history.

The list of Ježek Award laureates includes a variety of artists - from conductors Bojan Adamič and Mojmir Sepe, singers-songwriters Iztok Mlakar, Tomaž Pengov and Adi Smolar, to actors and comedians Zlatko Šugman, Jure Ivanušič, Andrej Rozman-Roza and Sašo Hribar.

Last year the accolade went to Marko Radmilovič, the author of a hugely popular weekly satirical column on the public radio station.