Dennenesch Zoudé (born 14 December 1966) is a German actress. Zoudé is a board member of

Deutsche Filmakademie The Deutsche Filmakademie is an independently run organization with a focus on filmmaking in Germany. It was founded in 2003 in Berlin as a way to provide native filmmakers a forum for discussion and a way to promote the reputation of German ci ...

(The German Film Academy). She was married to German

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

Carlo Rola and lives in

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 ...

Life

Dennenesch Zoudé was born in

Addis Abeba Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. When she was two (1968) her family moved to

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

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 ...

. After finishing High School she trained to be a business correspondent, as was her parents' wish. Afterwards she started working as a secretary in a contracting firm in Berlin. Later, she trained to become an actress at the

Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is a full-time professional conservatory for actors in New York City. First operational from 1915 to 1927, the school re-opened in 1928 and has been active ever since. It is the birthplace of th ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Additionally, Zoudé took singing lessons with Cullen Maiden and

Veronika Fischer Veronika Fischer (born 28 July 1951 in Wölfis, also called Vroni) is a German singer. Life Fischer was born in the Thuringian municipality of Wölfis (near Gotha). She began to study at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in 1968 w ...

. From 1996 to 2000 Dennenesch Zoudé was in a relationship with author and TV presenter

Roger Willemsen Roger Willemsen (15 August 1955 – 7 February 2016) was a German author, essayist and TV presenter. Biography Willemsen was born and passed his Abitur in Bonn. He studied German philology (Germanistik), philosophy and history of art in Bonn, ...

. In 2001 she started dating Carlo Rola, a German director, producer and screenwriter. They got married on October 6, 2009, in New York City, which was also Rola's birthday. In 2016 Carlo Rola died of

sudden cardiac death Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

. Since February 24, 2020 Zoudé is a board member of

(The German Film Academy).

Work

In 1995/96 Dennenesch Zoudé became famous for appearing in the German TV show ''

Gegen den Wind ''Gegen den Wind'' (''Against the Wind'') is a German television series which ran from 1994 to 1997. Cast * as Nik Andersen * Hardy Krüger junior as Sven Westermann * Alexander Haugg as Knut * Henry van Lyck as John Westermann * Daniela Ziegle ...

''. Her first role in a play was in 1996, in the play ''

Lysistrata ''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponne ...

'' directed by Jürgen Benecke. In 1999 Zoudé played in

Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

`s ''The Fifth Column'' at the

Ernst Deutsch Theater Ernst Deutsch Theater is a theatre in Hamburg, Germany. The former cinema in the Uhlenhorst quarter is Germany's largest privately owned theatre. It has been founded in 1951 and was named after the famous actor Ernst Deutsch Ernst Deutsch, ...

, directed by

Christian Kohlund Christian Kohlund (born 17 August 1950 in Basel, Switzerland) is a Swiss actor and director. Selected filmography * '' The Cheese Factory in the Hamlet'' (1958), as School boy * ''The Pedestrian'' (1973), as Erwin Gotz * ' (1975), as Oberfeld ...

. In 2002 and 2003 she was the love interest in the Berlin Everyman Festival in '' Jedermann'' by

Brigitte Grothum Brigitte Grothum (born 26 February 1935) is a German film actress. She has appeared in 50 films since 1955. She was born in Dessau, Germany. Selected filmography *'' Ripening Youth'' (1955), as Dora *''The First Day of Spring'' (1956), as Tri ...

. In 2006 Dennenesch Zoudé portrayed the female lead in the TV drama ''Meine Mutter tanzend''. It is the story about the hardships mother and daughter face while trying to get to know each other. Zoudé's character, the adopted Stella Ahrens, wants to find out more about her family heritage and finds her biological mother – a white cashier at a supermarket. The actress was also starring in the 2008 remake of ''

Und Jimmy ging zum Regenbogen ''Und Jimmy ging zum Regenbogen'' (English: ''And Jimmy Went to the Rainbow's Foot'' ) is a movie by Alfred Vohrer based on the novel '' The Caesar Code'' by Johannes Mario Simmel. It was filmed in Vienna and Munich in autumn 1970 and released in ...

'', based on the book of the same name, alongside

Heino Ferch Heino Ferch (born 18 August 1963) is a German film, theatre and television actor. His notable film roles include Albert Speer in ''Downfall (2004 film), Downfall'' (2004) and Harry Melchior in The Tunnel (2001 film), ''The Tunnel'' (2001). Biogr ...

. The director of the film was her late husband Carlo Rola. Since then she has been a part of various, mostly German, productions, her most recent being the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

mini series '' Unorthodox''.

Social involvement

From 2006 to 2010 Zoudé was a Special Ambassador for

United Buddy Bears ''Buddy Bears'' are painted, life-size fiberglass bear sculptures developed by German businesspeople Klaus and Eva Herlitz, in cooperation with sculptor Roman Strobl. They have become a landmark of Berlin and are considered unofficial ambassad ...

at several events. Additionally, promoted the

Stiftung Lesen Stiftung Lesen (Reading Foundation) is a non-profit organization based in Mainz, Germany under the patronage of Joachim Gauck. Stiftung Lesen acts as a stakeholder for reading promotion on a national and international level. It contributes to readi ...

by being a Reading Ambassador. As of 2015 Dennenesch Zoudé is a patron of the Fairchance Foundation, which offers aid programs for immigrant children in Germany to help their integration.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zoude, Dennenesch 1966 births Living people Ethiopian emigrants to Germany German film actresses German television actresses 20th-century German actresses 21st-century German actresses