Katrin Sass (, for a time Katrin Saß) is a German actress. She became known internationally for playing the idealistic socialist mother Christiane Kerner in the 2003

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...

Good Bye, Lenin! ''Good Bye Lenin!'' is a 2003 German tragicomedy film, directed by Wolfgang Becker. The cast includes Daniel Brühl, Katrin Sass, Chulpan Khamatova, and Maria Simon. The story follows a family in East Germany (GDR); the mother (Sass) is dedica ...

Biography

She was born in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...

, in the former

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 ...

, which is now the capital of the

Federal State A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

. Before

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 ...

, she was a well-known film and stage actress in the

German Democratic Republic 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 ...

. She made her film debut at age 23 in the 1979 film '' Bis daß der Tod euch scheidet'', where she portrayed a disillusioned young wife. She won the

Silver Bear for Best Actress The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chos ...

at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival for her role in the 1981 film ''

Bürgschaft für ein Jahr ''Bürgschaft für ein Jahr'' (, " Surety for One Year") is a 1981 East German drama film directed by Herrmann Zschoche. It was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival, where Katrin Saß won the Silver Bear for Best Actress. ...

''. In 2011, she appeared in the music video of "Wir Sind am Leben" by the

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 ...

music duo

Rosenstolz Rosenstolz () was a German pop duo from Berlin that was active between 1991 and 2012 and had chart hits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The duo consisted of singer AnNa R. and musician Peter Plate, who occasionally provided vocals. R ...

. Sass said the GDR required her to spell her name with a " ß" presumably because "Sass" was associated with the Nazi SA and SS. (Javascript needed)

Filmography

* ' (1979) * ''

'' (1981) * '' The House on the River'' (1986) * '' Fallada: The Last Chapter'' (1988) * ' (2001) * ''

'' (2003) (with

Daniel Brühl Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo (; born 16 June 1978) is a Spanish-German actor and filmmaker. He received his first German Film Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' Das Weisse Rauschen (The White Sound)'' (2001), ''Nichts ...

Chulpan Khamatova Chulpan Nailevna Khamatova PAR (russian: Чулпан Наилевна Хаматова; tt-Cyrl, Чулпан Наил кызы Хаматова; born 1 October 1975) is a Russian film, theater and TV actress Biography Early life and theat ...

Michael Gwisdek Michael Gwisdek (14 January 1942 – 22 September 2020) was a German actor and film director. Career He began his acting career in East Germany and has appeared in more than 130 films and television shows since 1968. His debut film as a direct ...

and

Alexander Beyer Alexander Beyer (born 24 June 1973) is a German actor. He was born in Erfurt, East Germany. He has appeared in such films as Volker Schloendorff's '' The Legend of Rita'' (''Die Stille nach dem Schuss'', 1999), Leander Haußmann's ''Sun Alley'' ...

) * ' (2006) * '' The Silence'' (2010) * '' Weissensee'' (2010, 2013, 2015) * '' Back on Track'' (2013) * '' (Television series, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020)

References

External links

* 1956 births Living people People from Schwerin German film actresses European Film Awards winners (people) Best Actress German Film Award winners Rostock University of Music and Theatre alumni Silver Bear for Best Actress winners 20th-century German actresses 21st-century German actresses {{Germany-film-actor-stub