Hildegard Knef
German actress, singer, and writer known for her film roles in Die Mörder sind unter uns and Die Sünderin, and for her singing career.
Hildegard Knef was born on December 28, 1925 in Ulm, Germany.[1] She worked as an actress, singer, and author, appearing in 49 feature films and releasing 23 original albums.[1] Knef died on February 1, 2002 in Berlin from a lung infection.[2]
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef
- Born
- 28 December 1925
- Birthplace
- Ulm, Württemberg, German Reich
- Died
- 1 February 2002
- Place of death
- Berlin, Germany
- Occupation
- Actress
- singer
- writer
- Years active
- 1944–2001
- Children
- 1
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
Her father, a tobacco merchant, died of syphilis when she was six months old.[3] A brief nude scene in Die Sünderin (1951) caused a scandal and was criticized by the Catholic Church.[4] Knef launched a singing career in the 1960s, writing lyrics for many of her songs.[3] She wrote two autobiographies, Der geschenkte Gaul (1970) and Das Urteil (1975), the latter about her cancer.[2]
Knef was married three times and had one daughter, Christina Antonia.[3][5] After her father's death, Hildegard and her mother relocated to Berlin, where her mother took a factory job.[3] Knef started acting lessons in 1940 when she was 14, and at age 15 she quit school to train as an animator at Universum Film AG.[3] To remain with her lover during the Battle of Berlin, Knef put on a soldier's uniform; she was taken prisoner by Soviet forces but managed to flee with assistance from other inmates.[6]
Her first major film appearance was in Die Mörder sind unter uns (1946), which was the initial movie released in East Germany after the Second World War.[4]
What the cited sources add
The same source notes her stepfather refused to adopt her and that she lived in fear of him because of his large hands.[7] Knef's first report in a US magazine appeared in Life on May 19, 1947, where she expressed a wish to work in Hollywood.[7] The Guardian obituary states she was employed at Ufa at age 17 as a painter and cartoonist while studying acting.[8] The same obituary notes she was named best actress at the 1948 Locarno film festival for Film ohne Titel.[8]
According to a fan site endorsed by Knef's widower, she was delivered at 4:02 a.m. and christened in the evangelical (Lutheran) cathedral of Ulm.[7]
References
- Gurke, "Hildegard Knef – 10 Facts At a Glance", Impressum. facts only, no text reused. hildegardknef.de
- Ralf Schmitt, "Hildegard Knef ist tot" Spielfilm (1 February 2002). Retrieved 5 March 2012. facts only, no text reused. spielfilm.de
- Wikipedia, "Hildegard Knef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Binder, "Hildergard Knef, 76, Actress Who Escaped P.O.W. Camp", The New York Times, 2 February 2002, p. C16 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hildegard Knef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ralf Schmitt, "Hildegard Knef ist tot" Spielfilm (1 February 2002). Retrieved 5 March 2012 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hildegard Knef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Hildegard Knef", Gale, 2002 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hildegard Knef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Beevor, A (2003) Berlin: The Downfall 1945, Penguin Books, p. 311; Gurke, "Hildergard Knef", Impressum (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Gurke, "Hildergard Knef", Impressum. facts only, no text reused. hildegardknef.de
- Holloway, "Hildegard Knef", The Guardian, 2 February 2002. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Hildegard Knef (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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