Clara Schønfeld (born Clara Julie Christensen; 26 August 1856 – 5 May 1938) was a Danish stage and film actress whose career spanned from the late 19th century through the 1920s.

Career

Born Clara Julie Christensen in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

, Zealand, she was the daughter of Andreas Ludvig Christensen, a bricklayer, and his wife Birgitte Elisabeth Christensen. She made her stage debut with the E.J. Haffgreens Theater Company in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, Norway at the Møllergatens Theater on 17 September 1873. Afterward, she was engaged at a number of theaters in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, including part of the ensemble of the

Det Ny Teater Det Ny Teater (English: The New Theatre) is an established theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, first opened in 1908. It is based in a building which spans a passage between Vesterbrogade and Gammel Kongevej in Copenhagen's theatre district on the borde ...

when it opened in 1908, as well as a number of theaters in the Danish provinces, such as the

Odense Theatre Odense Teater is a theater in the city of Odense in Denmark. It dates back to 1796, which makes it Denmark's second oldest theater. It is one of the country's three main theaters. The venue is located in Jernbanegade, where it has three stages: ...

. From 1918 to 1927, she appeared in 14 silent films, including

Carl Theodor Dreyer Carl Theodor Dreyer (; 3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his movies are noted for their emotional aus ...

's 1925 drama ''Du skal ære din hustru'' (English release titles: ''Master of the House'' and ''Honor Thy Wife''.)

Personal life

Clara Schønfeld married twice. Her first marriage was to actor Holger Emil Rams Hardt Kjertmann. Her second marriage was to theater director and actor Hjalmar Otto Schønfeld in 1893. The couple were married until his death in 1924. She never remarried, and she died in 1939 and was buried in the

Assistants Cemetery Assistens Cemetery ( da, Assistens Kirkegård) is the name of a number of cemeteries in Denmark. The common nominator is, as the first part of the name implies (Latin: ''assistens'' meaning assisting), an assisting cemetery for a town's churches. ...

in the

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...

district of Copenhagen.Det Danske Film Database
Retrieved 4 May 2015

Selected filmography

*''

Du skal ære din hustru ''Master of the House'' ( da, Du skal ære din hustru, literally ''Thou Shalt Honour Thy Wife'') is a 1925 Danish silent drama film directed and written by acclaimed filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer. The film marked the debut of Karin Nellemose, ...

'' (English release title: ''Master of the House'') (1925) *'' Praesten i Vejlby'' (English release title: ''The Vicar of Vejlby'') (1922)

References

External links

* 1856 births 1939 deaths Danish stage actresses Danish film actresses Danish silent film actresses People from Roskilde 19th-century Danish actresses 20th-century Danish actresses Place of death missing {{Denmark-actor-stub