The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and other fields "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year", both domestic and foreign. First held in 1948, it is the oldest media award in Germany. The trophy is named after

Felix Salten Felix Salten (; 6 September 1869 – 8 October 1945) was an Austro-Hungarian author and literary critic in Vienna. Life and death Salten was born Siegmund Salzmann on 6 September 1869 in Pest, Austria-Hungary. His father was Fülöp Salzmann, ...

's book ''

Bambi, A Life in the Woods ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' (German title: ''Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde'') is a 1923 Austrian coming-of-age novel written by Felix Salten and originally published in Berlin by Ullstein Verlag. The novel traces the life of Bambi ...

'' and its statuettes are in the shape of the novel's titular fawn character. They were originally made of

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

until 1958, when the organizers switched to using gold, with the casting done by the art casting workshop of Ernst Strassacker in

Süßen Süßen (or Süssen) is a town in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located on the river Fils 8 km east of Göppingen, near Stuttgart. History Süßen was first mentioned with the name of ''Siezun'' ...

. Frequent awardees include

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

(12),

Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to: * Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player * Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...

and

O. W. Fischer Otto Wilhelm Fischer (german: O. W. Fischer, ; 1 April 1915 – 29 January 2004) was an Austrians, Austrian film and theatre actor, a leading man of Cinema of Germany, West German cinema during the ''Wirtschaftswunder'' era of the 1950s and 19 ...

(10),

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

(9),

Maria Schell Maria Margarethe Anna Schell (15 January 1926 – 26 April 2005) was an Austrian-Swiss actress. She was one of the leading stars of German cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1954, she was awarded the Cannes Best Actress Award for her performance ...

(8).

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

(6),

Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the fi ...

Pierre Brice Pierre-Louis Le Bris (6 February 1929 – 6 June 2015), known as Pierre Brice, was a French actor, best known as portraying fictional Apache-chief Winnetou in German films based on Karl May novels. Life and films Brice was born in Brest, Brit ...

(5), and

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

(3).

History

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-1127-023, Leipzig, Bambi-Verleihung, Franz Beckenbauer (cropped)

The Bambi originated in 1942. The first prize winners were actors

Jean Marais Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais (), was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 f ...

and

Marika Rökk Marika Rökk (; born Marie Karoline Rökk, 3 November 1913 – 16 May 2004) was a German-Austrian dancer, singer and actress of Hungarian descent who gained prominence in German films in the Nazi era. She resumed her career in 1947 and was one of ...

, as well as the DEFA-director Prof.

Kurt Maetzig Kurt Maetzig (25 January 1911 – 8 August 2012) was a German film director who had a significant effect on the film industry in East Germany. He was one of the most respected filmmakers of the GDR. After his retirement he lived in Wildkuh ...

. His movie '' Ehe im Schatten'' (Marriage in the Shadows) was chosen as the best German film. At the 60th jubilee of the Bambi in 2008, the co-founder of the DEFA, who celebrated his 100th birthday on 25 January 2011, received a duplicate of a porcelain Bambi, because the original had been broken. The award trophy was at first a fawn made of white porcelain, which was produced in the Majolika Manufaktur in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

by the sculptor Else Bach (1899–1952). Since 1958, the golden-bronze deer has been produced in the art foundry of Ernst Strassacker in the Swabian village of

. According to Marika Rökk's daughter, the name "Bambi" is attributed to her because she had said to her mother, after she brought the prize home: "Oh, you brought a Bambi for me", inspired by the book ''Bambi'' by

or the 1942 Disney film of the same name. The Bambi awards were presented in

between 1948 and 1964, and afterwards in other cities such as

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the ad ...

. In 2002,

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

won the Pop Artist of the Millennium Award and

Anastacia Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and former dancer. Her first two albums '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred o ...

won the Best Newcomer Award. In 2003 and 2004, the awards ceremony took place in the Theater am Hafen in Hamburg. The 2006 Bambi was awarded in the Mercedes-Benz-Weltin museum in Stuttgart, moderated by entertainer

Harald Schmidt Harald Franz Schmidt (born 18 August 1957) is a German actor, comedian, television presenter and writer best known as the host of two popular German late-night shows. Early and private life A son of refugees who fled from Sudetenland (now C ...

and model Eva Padberg. In 2007, the ceremony was held in the Congress Center in Düsseldorf (CCD), and in 2008 in Offenburg. Both events were presented by Harald Schmidt. Award recipients in 2009 included Colombian singer/songwriter and choreographer

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

, actress

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...

, Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, and

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained notoriety working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expande ...

, whose niece Roberta Armani accepted the award for him. Shakira performed her single " Did It Again" before accepting her award. The ceremonies of 2009 and 2010 were held in the Metropolis-Hall in Potsdam-Babelsberg. In 2014, the

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat, (born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson; 5 February 1972) is the wife of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark. Frederik is the heir apparent to the throne, which means that should he succeed, Mary w ...

received a Bambi in the charity category for her extensive work for women's rights. Bambi awards are judged by

Hubert Burda Hubert Burda (born 9 February 1940) is a German billionaire publisher. He is the owner, publisher and general partner of Hubert Burda Media, a global media company of more than 600 media products, including websites, print magazines and other br ...

and the editors-in-chief at Hubert Burda Media.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bambi (Prize) Awards established in 1948 German awards German television awards German film awards 1948 establishments in Germany