Hildegard Knef (aka Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff) was a German actress, singer and writer. She began studying acting in 1940, aged 14. She appeared in several films even before the fall of the Third Reich, but most were not released until after World War II. Her acting career is best known for 'Die Mörder sind unter uns' (The Murderers Are Among Us), which was the first film released after the Second World War in East Germany .... Westerners may remember her more for her appearance in 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro' in 1952 and her appearance in a number of 1960's low budget films such as the Hammer film 'The Lost Continent'.
In order to achieve success outside of Germany, she had to change her name from Knef to Neff and this gained her some success and stardom on Broadway as “Ninotchka” in the Cole Porter musical, 'Silk Stockings'. She began a new career in 1963 as a singer and surprised her audiences with the deep, smoky quality of her voice and the many lyrics, which she wrote herself ... she continued to sing through out the 1960s and 1970s as a singer of German chansons.
She got much support from her fans around the world as she fought and defeated cancer several times, and she returned to Berlin to live after the reunification. She was married three times and died from emphysema, aged 76, in 2002.
She published several books during her lifetime, including her autobiography 'Der geschenkte Gaul - Bericht aus einem Leben' (The Gift Horse - Report of a Life) in 1970. This was a candid recount of her life in Germany during and after World War II. It was said to the best-selling German book after World War II. Her second book 'Das Urteil' (The Verdict) in 1975 dealt with her struggles with breast cancer.
Ah your thinking, just a 'forgotten' celeb and no scandal? As if I would do that .... In 1950 she starred in the movie 'Marina in Die Sünderin' (
The Sinner), in which she
performed the first nude scene in German film history
The
nudity in the scene caused one of the largest scandals in German film-making history up until that time. This was especially so when the Roman Catholic Church
protested vehemently against the films release. She responded with something of a put down “
I can't understand all that fuss - just five years after Auschwitz!”
Trivia:
- She was forced to dress as a young man to avoid being raped by the Soviet soldiers and was sent to a POW camp as she was thought to be a soldier.
- David Selznick invited her to Hollywood, but she refused to agree to the conditions of the contract which reportedly included changing her name to Gilda Christian and pretending to be Austrian rather than German.
- She was a close personal friend of Marlene Dietrich, despite being in the legend's international shadow for much her career.
- Became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1950.
Pictures:
Much to my surprise, she turned out to have
a thread already, which took the wind out my sails
... ah well, just a few pics. Any follows up to her thread please.
