Chris Doerk (born 24 February 1942,

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

musician and actress. She was a successful pop singer in socialist

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

(GDR) and was married to fellow singer

Frank Schöbel Frank Schöbel (born 11 December 1942, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany) is a German musician. He was one of the most successful pop singers in socialist East Germany (GDR), and has continued to perform even after German reunification. Career As the se ...

Life and career

Doerk rose to prominence after winning a

talent competition A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

. As a young woman, she worked as a commercial designer and a model. In the 1960s, she was considered a

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

star with husband Frank Schöbel, and the pair sold millions of records. The two sang and danced together in two DEFA films: ''

Heißer Sommer ''Heißer Sommer'', aka ''Hot Summer'' (USA), is a 1968 East German musical film. A 2001 video release promotes the film as "The East German '' Grease''" although perhaps it is closer in concept to the 1963 British movie '' Summer Holiday'' which ...

'' (1968) and ''Nicht schummeln, Liebling'' (1972). The pair divorced in 1974, and also went separate ways professionally. Doerk had one son with Schöbel. After the divorce, Doerk continued to perform through the 1980s, and spent much time overseas, particularly in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. She published a book about Cuba in 2002 called ''La Casita''. Following

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, Doerk took a break from singing, but she made a comeback, and released her first record after 20 years in 2012. In 2023, she revealed that she was "seriously ill" and canceled all of her performances.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doerk, Chris 1942 births Living people East German musicians 20th-century German musicians German-language singers German pop singers