Maria Simon (born 6 February 1976) is a German actress.

Family and background

Simon's German father originally hailed from

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

and studied mathematics in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. There he met Simon's Russian-Jewish mother, Olga, who studied electronics and originally hailed from

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. The couple married while studying. Maria Simon is the younger sister of actress Susanna Simon, who was born on 23 July 1968, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Maria was born and brought up 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 ...

, but moved to New York City in 1990 to live with her father, a computer expert with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

, and her sister Dalena Simon. She also has a sister named Alyssa. Simon has four children, the first from a former relationship with the actor

Devid Striesow Devid Striesow (born 1 October 1973 in Bergen auf Rügen, 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 Oct ...

, and three with her husband, the actor Bernd Michael Lade.

Education

After finishing school she moved back to the newly reunited Germany to study acting at the Academy of Performing Arts Ernst Busch in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

where she received her diploma in 1999.

Roles and awards

She won the award for Best Actress for her role in the film '' Zornige Küsse'' at the

22nd Moscow International Film Festival The 22nd Moscow International Film Festival was held from 19 to 29 July 2000. The Golden St. George was awarded to the Polish-French film ''Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease'' directed by Krzysztof Zanussi. Jury * Theodoros Angelopou ...

in 2000. Simon was nominated as the best supporting actress in the 2003

German Film Awards 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 ...

, and was named ''European Shooting Star'' (i.e., best newcomer) at the 2004

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

. In the same year she played Polly in Bertolt Brechts '' Dreigroschenoper'' at the

Maxim Gorki Theater The Maxim Gorki Theatre (german: Maxim Gorki Theater) is a theatre in Berlin-Mitte named after the Soviet writer, Maxim Gorky. In 2012, the Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit named Şermin Langhoff as the artist director of the theatre. History It ...

in Berlin. Her TV movie ''Kleine Schwester'' was nominated for the Adolf Grimme Awards in 2005.presseportal.de
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Filmography

*''

Angry Kisses ''Angry Kisses'' (german: Zornige Küsse) is a 2000 Swiss drama film directed by Judith Kennel. It was entered into the 22nd Moscow International Film Festival where Maria Simon (actress), Maria Simon won the award for Best Actress. Cast * Jür ...

'' (1999), as Lea *' (2001), as Johanna *''Erste Ehe'' (2002), as Dorit (USA title: ''Portrait of a Married Couple'') *''

My Daughter's Tears My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Mar ...

'' (2002), as Stefanie (USA title: ''Against All Evidence'', German title: ''Meine Tochter ist keine Mörderin'') *''

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 dedic ...

'' (2003), as Ariane Kerner *'' Distant Lights'' (2003), as Sonja *''

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

'' (2003), as Hanna

TV Work

*''Jenny Berlin: Tod am Meer'' (2000, TV series episode), as Tanja Schulz *''Mord im Swingerclub'' (2000, TV film), as Susanna Bach *''

HeliCops – Einsatz über Berlin ''HeliCops – Einsatz über Berlin'' is a German television series. External links * 1998 German television series debuts 2001 German television series endings 1990s crime television series 1990s German police procedural television ser ...

: Fehlgeleitet'' (2001, TV series episode), as Biene Virchow *'' Balko: Der Schweinemann'' (2001, TV series episode), as Marischka *''Verbotene Küsse'' (2001, TV film), as Andrea *''Jonathans Liebe'' (2001, TV film), as Nina Buchwald *''

Tatort ''Tatort'' ("Crime scene") is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed b ...

: Verrat'' (2002, TV series episode), as Lisa Mattern *''

Alarm für Cobra 11 - Die Autobahnpolizei An alarm device is a mechanism that gives an audible, visual or other kind of alarm signal to alert someone to a problem or condition that requires urgent attention. Alphabetical musical instruments Etymology The word ''alarm'' comes from the ...

: Die Clique'' (2002, TV series episode), as Laura Friedrich *''Tatort: Reise ins Nichts'' (2002, TV series episode), as Sabine Hallmeier *''Spurlos – Ein Baby verschwindet'' (2003, TV film), as Andrea Bär *''Fast perfekt verlobt'' (2003, TV film), as Nika Kreschninski *''

K3 – Kripo Hamburg ''K3 – Kripo Hamburg'' is a German television series. See also *List of German television series The following is a list of television series produced in Germany: Current Drama * ''4 Blocks'' (TNT Serie, 2017–2019) * ''Alarm für Cob ...

: Auf dünnem Eis'' (2003, TV series episode), as Kathrin Leutgeb *''Spur & Partner'' (2003, TV series), as Frau Stolz/Hausmädchen/Eva Hermann *'' Carola Stern's Double Life'' (2004, TV film), as Carola Stern *''Kleine Schwester'' (2004, TV film), as Katrin Rubakow *''Tatort: Feuertaufe'' (2005, TV series episode), as Sabine Gerber *''Tatort: Minenspiel'' (2005, TV series episode), as Hannah Siems *''Die Pathologin'' (2006, TV film), as Leo *' (2006, TV film), as Lona *' (2023, TV miniseries), as Anna Klettmann

References

External links

*
german-films.de: »A portrait of Maria Simon – Shooting Star«
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Maria 1976 births 20th-century German actresses 21st-century German actresses Actors from Leipzig Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni German film actresses German television actresses German people of Russian-Jewish descent German stage actresses Living people