Melanie Isabella Kogler (born 18 April 1985 in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

) is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n television and theatre actress most known for her role as Marlene von Lahnstein (née Wolf) on the hit German television series, ''

Verbotene Liebe ''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mal ...

'' (''Forbidden Love'').

Professional career

Kogler attended the European Film Actor School in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, Switzerland where she graduated in 2006. During her studies she performed in short films and plays. After graduation she performed with the Salzburg State Theatre in ''The Little Witch'' (Natascha Kalmbach) and ''Rembrandt B12'' (Barbara Neureiter). In 2007 she starred in Markus Steinwender's staged version of Goethe's ''Faust'' as Gretchen. Kogler made her television debut in 2007 on the ZDF crime show ''

Die Rosenheim-Cops ''Die Rosenheim-Cops'' is a German television series set in Chiemgau, mainly in Rosenheim. It is produced by the Bavaria Film GmbH for the ZDF public TV network. The cost per episode is estimated at 425,000 euros. Concept The series' main ...

'' in the episode "A Deadly Taste", which was directed by Gunter Krää. In der 2007-2008 theatre season Kogler resumed working on stage in at the Salzburg State Theatre. She performed in ''The Talisman'' (Emma) by Beverly Blankenship, and in ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not include ...

'' (young maid) directed by Frank Brightmouth. She also resumed her role in "The Little Witch" which was directed by Natasha Kalmbach.

Role on ''Verbotene Liebe'' (''Forbidden Love'')

In 2011 Kogler landed a role on the hit ARD show ''

''. She debuted on 24 January 2011 as Marlene von Lahnstein, a character who would have several romantic encounters with members of the aristocratic Lahnstein family. Kogler gained international attention and praise for her performance when her character eventually fell in love with Countess Rebecca von Lahnstein (portrayed by Tatjana Kästel). Between 2012 - 2014 Kogler's character struggled with her sexual orientation whilst being engaged to a male member of the Lahnstein family, Count

Tristan von Lahnstein Tristan von Lahnstein is a fictional character of the German soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''. The character is played by actor Jens Hartwig. He first appeared on 23 October 2009. Creation Personality Tristan is said to never mis ...

(portrayed by

Jens Hartwig Jens Hartwig (born April 16, 1980) is a German actor. Jens completed successfully his education as in actor in the Center for Film and Television in Cologne. He appeared first in a secondary role as Georg Kramer in the feature film ''Eine indiskr ...

). Eventually, Marlene realizes that she cannot deny her love for Rebecca, despite her being a woman. Kogler was named one of AfterEllen's "Top 25 Lesbian/Bi Characters on TV (Right Now)" in 2013, along with her co-star Kästel. They were two of only three non-English speaking stars to be named on the list. After two years in a starring role, ''Verbotene Liebe'' ended their contract with Kogler, and she left the show in September 2014.

Filmography

* 2004: Und Action... * 2004: Fräulein Julie * 2004: Der Gesang im Feuerofen * 2005: Heinrich & Henrietta * 2005: Bei Banküberfällen wird mit wahrer Liebe gehandelt * 2005: Molly Sweeney * 2006: Der kaukasische Kreidekreis * 2006: Die kleine Hexe * 2007: Rembrandt B12 * 2007: Faust 1 * 2007: Der Talisman * 2007:

– Ein mörderischer Geschmack * 2007: Bernarda Albas Haus * 2008: Komödienstadel – G'suacht und G'fundn * 2008: Steht auf wenn ihr für Salzburg seid * 2008: Eine Mittsommernachts-Sex-Komödie * 2008: Der Sturm * 2008: Komödienstadel – Der letzte Bär von Bayern * 2009: Second Life * 2009: Komödienstadel – Endstation Drachenloch * 2009: Spielwiese * 2009: Weihnachten bei Tiger und Bär * 2010: Kasimir und Karoline * 2010: Ja (short film) * 2010: Rechtschreibung (short film) * 2010: YouDie (short film) * 2010: Impure Intent * 2011–2014:

* 2014:

Wilsberg ''Wilsberg'' is a German TV series based on novels about the fictional private detective Georg Wilsberg. A first TV episode was aired in 1995, five years after the release of the first novel, starring Joachim Król. Since the second episode (aired ...

– Die Übergabe

References

External links

Homepage for Melanie Kogler
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Online-Demoband von Melanie Kogler
(Flash required) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kogler, Melanie German soap opera actresses 1985 births Living people