Foto: Mac Walten (1872-1936)

1892 - 1984

She made her stage debut at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1909, later followed engagements at different theaters in Germany.

Back in Berlin she also gained a foothold in the film business and was engaged by the Bolten-Baeckers-Filmgesellschaft.
To her first movies belong "Der Meineidbauer" (16), "Die Rivalin" (19), "Die Liebe der Marion Bach" (19) and "Im Bahnwärterhäusl" (19).

Her last cinematical works came already at the beginning of the 20's into being. First she took part in the movies "Armer kleiner Pierrot" (20), "Die Mali" (20), "Der letzte Hohenhaus" (21) and "Dämonische Treue" (21). When she acted in her next movie "Die Nächte des Cornelius Brouwer" (21) she appeared at the actor Rudolf Klein-Rogge's side. 

They became closer to each other and finally got married. After that Margarete Neff retired from the film business.
Only after her divorce she continued her acting career, thoughnot in the film business but exclusively at the theater, among others at the Deutsches Nationaltheater in Weimar till 1935 before she had to emigrate to Austria because of her Jewish origins.

With the fusion of Germany and Austria the political persecution began again. Her husband was arrested in 1938 and her domicile was wrecked by the SA. It followed a running the gauntlet through different authorities in order to rescue her husband. Finally she also addressed herself to Emmy Göring and some weeks later her husband was released. It lastet several more months before they were able to emigrate to Zurich in March 1939. Later they went to the USA where she where she was active at the emigration ensemble. In 1984 she died at the age of 92 in New York.