Senta Berger

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Senta Berger (2017)

Senta Berger (born May 13, 1941 in Vienna , real name Senta Verhoeven ) is an Austrian - German actress and film producer . Her international film career began in Austria and took her via Germany to Hollywood in the 1960s . Since then she has appeared in numerous European films, at the theater and, since the 1980s, increasingly in leading roles in German television series and films . In addition, she was active as a pop singer from the end of the 1960s to the mid-1970s .

Life

Origin and first years

Senta Berger grew up in Lainz - part of Vienna's 13th district  . Her father Josef Berger was a musician. Her mother was the teacher Therese Berger, née Jany. Senta performed with her father at the age of four. The father accompanied the singing daughter on the piano. At the age of five she received ballet lessons .

After her childhood in a substandard apartment on Lainzer Straße, Senta and her parents were able to move into a community housing in the nearby Lockerwiese housing estate in 1955 .

At the age of 14, Berger turned to acting and took private lessons. Two years later she left the Wenzgasse grammar school in her residential area .

Acting career

In 1957, Berger was hired by the director Willi Forst for her first, still small role in the film The Unexcused Hour . She applied for the Max Reinhardt Seminar and was accepted. Her year included u. a. Marisa Mell , Elisabeth Orth , Heidelinde Weis and Erika Pluhar . She had to drop out of school after accepting a role in the movie The Journey starring Yul Brynner without asking the principal's permission. In 1958 Berger became the youngest member of the Vienna Theater in der Josefstadt .

The director Bernhard Wicki and producer Artur Brauner wanted to work with Berger. Brauner produced the film Der brave Soldat Schweijk with her and Heinz Rühmann . Brauner managed to engage Berger for several films. In 1962 she moved to Hollywood and filmed with Charlton Heston , Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin , Richard Harris , George Hamilton , Kirk Douglas , John Wayne and Yul Brynner . In 1969 she returned to Europe and in the 1970s she appeared mainly in Italian productions of various genres.

Senta Berger with her husband Michael Verhoeven (2013)

In 1967 she made the film Mit devilischen Grüßen with Alain Delon , in 1968 Berger starred in the three-part crime film Babeck by Herbert Reinecker , in which she sang the song Forgot me, if you can , composed by Peter Thomas . In 1970 she stood in front of the camera for the first time in the film Der Graben or Who Loves in the Glass House, produced by her company and directed by her husband . Other films made by her production company, including internationally successful ones, included a. The white rose , the terrible girl and mother's courage based on the play of the same name by George Tabori . Berger also built her European career in France and Italy.

Between 1974 and 1982 she was the fanatic in Jedermann at the Salzburg Festival at the side of Curd Jürgens and Maximilian Schell and thus the longest actress to be seen in this role to this day. She played at the Burgtheater in Vienna Tartuffe with Klaus Maria Brandauer (directed by Rudolf Noelte ), at the Thalia-Theater in Hamburg and at the Schillertheater in Berlin .

In 1985/86 she made her television comeback in front of the German-speaking audience in the television series Kir Royal at the side of Franz Xaver Kroetz , Dieter Hildebrandt and Billie Zöckler . This was followed by other series such as The Fast Gerdi and Lilli Lottofee , both directed by her husband Michael Verhoeven. Frank Beyer cast her in 1992 in the two-part TV drama You and He for the female lead of the psychologist Charlotte, alongside Reimar Johannes Baur .

At the turn of the millennium , she stood in front of the camera for the Austrian television production Try it with a younger man , directed by Michael Kreihsl . From 2002 to 2019 she played Dr. Eva-Maria Prohacek, a police adviser in the ZDF series Unter Verdacht , for whose first episode Verdecktes Spiel she was awarded the Grimme Prize in 2003. In addition, Berger also appeared as a chanson singer and at reading evenings (for example with Fräulein Else ). In 2002 she lent her voice to Catherine Deneuve for the French film 8 women (8 femmes) .

Career as a singer

Senta Berger was meanwhile active as a pop singer. She recorded two singles for the German market, which appeared relatively quickly one after the other. With For Romance No Time , she made her debut as a pop singer. Single girl was her second record. This is the German version of the song of the same name by Sandy Posey, which was able to place itself in England at short notice. The album wir wird sehn ... was able to place itself in 1989 at number 49 in the German album charts .

Others

1971 Senta Berger participated in the by Alice Schwarzer initiated media campaign " We had an abortion! ".

In 2003 she was one of the founding members of the German Film Academy and from 2003 to 2010 she was the first female President of the German Film Academy alongside Günter Rohrbach .

In 2009 she agreed to work as an ambassador for both the animal welfare organization Pro Wildlife for the protection of great apes and the José Carreras Leukemia Foundation .

Berger, who had campaigned for Willy Brandt in 1972, was nominated by the SPD as a delegate for the 2012 German federal presidential election.

In 2013 the Austrian Post issued a special stamp from the series Österreicher in Hollywood, designed by Adolf Tuma .

She has also been actively involved in the fight against blood cancer for the DKMS for many years . As part of DKMS Life , she appeared as a speaker at the DKMS Life Ladieslunch in 2010 .

Private

In 1963 Senta Berger met the then medical student and later film director Michael Verhoeven , the son of the actor and director Paul Verhoeven . On September 26, 1966, Berger and Verhoeven married in Munich , after they had founded Sentana film production together the year before . Senta Berger's real surname has been Verhoeven since then. From this marriage came two sons who are also filmmakers: Simon (* 1972) and Luca (* 1979).

She has lived for many years in the Geiselgasteig district of Grünwald, south of Munich, and for some time also in Berlin .

Filmography (selection)

cinemamovies

watch TV

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
we will see ...
  DE 49 04/17/1989 (2 weeks)

Singles

  • 1966: Single Girl / And I should forgive you for all of this ( Electrola E 23 432)
  • 1966: No time for romance / Music and Memories (Electrola E 23 433)
  • 1968: Forget me if you can (Soundtrack from "Babeck", first published in 1998 on the CD Peter Thomas : Moonflowers & Mini-Skirts ) (Marina MA 39)
  • 1972: Tema Di Fela (Tema dal film "L'Amante dell'Orsa Maggiore") / Adamo Ed Eva (Ricordi - SRL 10.663)
  • 1989: Girlfriend / A Single Evening (sung theme song by Die Schnell Gerdi ) (CBS 494)
  • 1989: I love you / I'll teach you it (promo single, CBS PRO 515)
  • 1989: One Evening / Taxi (CBS 655345 7)

Albums

  • 1987: Hits of the Century - a musical review of the 100th anniversary of the record. I.a. with Lili Marleen , sung by Senta Berger. (only on the 2 LP, Ariola 303-075-503)
  • 1989: we shall see ... (CBS 462586 1)

Audio books and radio play (selection)

Awards

Honor on the Boulevard of Stars (2011)

Film documentaries

  • The Verhoevens. Documentary by Felix Moeller, Germany 2003, 75 minutes.
  • France - wild and beautiful. Arte Documentation, France 2011, 90 minutes.

literature

  • Heiko R. Blum : Senta Berger - with charm and power. Heyne, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-453-19442-X .
  • Senta Berger (Ed.): My most beautiful Christmas stories. Herder Spectrum, 2005, ISBN 978-3-45105-620-8 .
  • Senta Berger: I knew I could fly: memories. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 2006, ISBN 3-462-03679-3 .
  • Antonia Meiners: Smart girls: Or how we became what we shouldn't be. With a foreword by Senta Berger. Elisabeth Sandmann Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-93804-520-6 .
  • Senta Berger (Ed.): With Senta Berger into the wide land of childhood. Herder Spectrum, 2006, ISBN 978-3-45105-702-1 .
  • Senta Berger (Ed.): A dream dances in the moonlight. The most beautiful poems and stories for good night. With read version as audio book CD. cbj, 2007, ISBN 978-3-57013-286-9 .
  • Cornelia Scheel, Hella von Sinnen: The fat booty of madness: On the trail of quirks and quirks. I.a. with an interview with Senta Berger. Rowohlt Paperback, 2011, ISBN 978-3-49962-763-7 .
  • Christine Dobretsberger: "What I love gives me strength." Stage stars from opera and theater tell stories. I.a. with an interview with Senta Berger. Styria Premium, Vienna 2015, ISBN 978-3-222-13517-0 .
  • Kathrin Müller-Hohenstein, Jan Westphal: Good luck !: How we became what we are. I.a. with an interview with Senta Berger. Benevento, 2020, ISBN 978-3-71090-092-1 .

Web links

Commons : Senta Berger  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lisa Duhm: Senta Berger is actually called differently. In: Der Spiegel. March 25, 2020, accessed March 25, 2020 .
  2. ^ Austrian nationality according to Senta Berger in the Munzinger archive , accessed on March 4, 2012 ( beginning of article freely accessible).
  3. ↑ Berger sees herself as a German artist (cf. Senta Berger. Germany, your artists - ARD) and was chosen for the election of the German Federal President in 2012 .
  4. ↑ Lore Brandl-Berger, Andrea Diawara and others: Women in Hietzing. Tours and documentation. ( Memento from January 11, 2017 in the Internet Archive ). (PDF; 3.15 MB). Published by Hietzingen district councilors and freelancers. 2nd Edition. Vienna 2014, info card No. 3.
  5. ↑ Michael Verhoeven about his father-in-law as the composer of the film Paarungen is quoted by Enjott Schneider: Handbuch Filmmusik I. Musikdramaturgie im Neuen Deutschen Film, 2018, ISBN 9783744513357 , p. 244 ; Michael Verhoeven names Josef Berger's life data: Dear Melanie: Background to the ZDF television film , S. Fischer Verlag, 2015, ISBN 9783105604373 , end note 6
  6. ↑ Katja Kraft: Senta Berger is 75. The high-flyer on merkur.de
  7. ↑ Lockerwiese housing estate. In: wienerwohnen.at.
  8. ↑ Iris Berben and Bruno Completely new presidential couple of the German Film Academy. Film portal , February 15, 2010, accessed on January 12, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Senta Berger helps the gorillas. ( Memento from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). In: monstersandcritics.de. November 18, 2008.
  10. ↑ José Carreras wins celebrities for Leukemia Foundation. In: schwarzwaelder-bote.de. September 25, 2009.
  11. ↑ Andreas Zemke: Interview with Senta Berger - February 2008. In: dw.de. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  12. ^ Bavarian state parliament: Senta Berger can vote. In: Abendblatt.de. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  13. ↑ Printed matter 16/11630. Bavarian State Parliament, February 29, 2012 (PDF; 100 kB).
  14. ↑ Austria Forum | https://austria-forum.org/ : Senta Berger. Retrieved January 5, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Senta Berger as guest at the 5th Munich Ladies' Lunch. In: hlk-marburg.de.
  16. ↑ Charts DE
  17. ↑ Discography on discogs.com
  18. ↑ Discography on discogs.com
  19. ↑ Discography on discogs.com
  20. ↑ Senta Berger, Patrick Lindner and Sepp Maier unveil their stars on the Sky of Fame. At: stachus-passagen.de. May 8, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  21. ^ Award for Senta Berger. August 18, 2020, accessed August 19, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Berger, Senta
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Verhoeven, Senta (married name); Berger-Verhoeven, Senta (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian-German actress and film producer
DATE OF BIRTH May 13, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna