Ida Orloff (also written ''Ida Orlov,'' pseudonym of ''Ida Siegler von Eberswald''; 16 February 1889 – 9 April 1945) was a theater and silent film actress during the early 20th century. She was already "renowned for her performances of modern high literature at leading German theaters", according to historians Jennifer Kapczynski and Michael Richardson, before she starred in the classic

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

silent film '' Atlantis'', which was based upon the 1912 novel by

Gerhardt Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into his work as well. He recei ...

. It was discovered years later that Orloff had been a secret lover and an inspirational muse for Hauptmann, who won the 1912 Nobel Prize for Literature.Heuser, Frederick W. J.
The Life of Ida Orloff
, in ''Proceedings of the Modern Language Association'', Vol. 72, No. 4, September 1957, pp. 737-774. New York, New York: Modern Language Association. She met and began a relationship with him in 1905.
. Hamburg, Germany: ''Der Spiegel'', January 10, 1966.

Life and career

Born on 16 February 1889 in St. Petersburg, Russia as Ida Margaretha Weißbeck, Ida Weißbeck was a daughter of Georg Weißbeck, a brewery manager who had emigrated from Prussia's province of Hesse to Russia. Following her father's death, circa 1895, she relocated with her two siblings and mother, a native of Heidelberg, Germany, to Germany and then to Vienna, Austria. After her mother remarried to Austrian army captain Heinrich von Siegler, Edler von Eberswald, Ida Weißbeck's name was changed to Ida Siegler von Eberswald. Educated initially in a convent, she pursued advanced training at Vienna's Ottosche Theaterschule following her stepfather's death. She began her acting career in the world of theater, and ultimately adopted the stage name of Ida Orloff. In 1905, she met and began a relationship with novelist

, ultimately becoming his muse. He frequently signed his letters to her as "Your Wann" in reference to a character in his work, ''And Pippa Dances''.Maurer, Warren R.
Understanding Gerhart Hauptmann
', pp. xiv, 111, 114, 117. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1992. She last met Hauptmann in 1942, at a grand reception hosted by the government in honour of his 80th birthday. On 9 April 1945, while the

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mou ...

was raging only a few miles away, Ida Orloff committed suicide at her home in the suburb of Tullnerbach, fearing reports of widespread rape and looting by the advancing Soviet Army.

Filmography

*'' Atlantis'' (1913) * '' Baccarat'' (1919)

References

External links

Ida Orloff -- The Androom Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orloff, Ida Austrian silent film actresses Austrian stage actresses Baltic-German people Austrian people of Russian descent Austrian people of German descent Actresses from Saint Petersburg 1889 births 1945 deaths Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Austria-Hungary 20th-century Austrian actresses 1945 suicides Suicides in Austria