Foto: Wilhelm Willinger (1879-1943)

1882 - 1969

Her glory wasn't based on her acting abilities, but rather on her voice which raised her to the most popular operetta star of the golden 20's. Her popularity was such great that she even had an important impact to the fashion of this time.

She made her debut on the stage in Vienna in 1898. Sie refined her vocal abilities in the next years and soon belonged to the most elegant performers of her time.

So her first cinematical experiences came off because of her fame as a singer. In so-called "sound pictures" she appeared in "Komm du kleines Kohlenmädchen" (07), "Trallala Lied" (08), "Schutzmannslied" (08), "Entrée der Messalinette" (08), "Donnerwetter, tadellos" (08) and "Auf ins Metropol" (08).

In the 10's followed some feature films like "Viola" (12), "Der Tunnel" (15), "Die Rose von Stambul" (19) and "Narrentanz der Liebe" (19).

But her main attention kept unequivocal to the singing. However her career came to an abrupt end when she became a butt of the anti-Semitic propaganda because of her Jewish marriage with actor Max Pallenberg. She had to leave Germany. 
She lost everything, her adopted country Berlin, her occupation and one year later also her husband who was killed in an air crash.

In the next years she appeared in London and Vienna before she went to Hollywood. There she lived in the circle of the Feuchtwanger's, Mann's, Werfel's and Lubitsch's for decades.