Romanian-German actress
Alexandra Maria Lara
Lara in 2020
Born Alexandra Maria Plătăreanu
(1978-11-12 ) 12 November 1978 (age 45) Occupation Actress Years active 1994–present Spouse
Children 1
Alexandra Maria Lara (née Plătăreanu ; 12 November 1978)
[1] is a
Romanian-German actress who has appeared in
Downfall (2004),
Control (2007),
Youth Without Youth (2007),
The Reader (2008),
Rush (2013), and
Geostorm (2017).
[2]
Early life
Born in
Bucharest , Lara is the only child of
Valentin Plătăreanu , an actor, and his wife, Doina. Her father was a successful actor and director in
Romania , directing many plays such as
Much Ado About Nothing by
William Shakespeare and
Hernani by
Victor Hugo .
In 1983, her family emigrated to
West Germany from their home in Bucharest, Romania (then the Socialist Republic of Romania). Although the family had originally planned to emigrate to Canada, they settled in
Freiburg im Breisgau , before eventually moving to
West Berlin . She gained fluency in German during this time.
Career
By sixteen, she was playing lead roles in various television dramas;[
clarification needed ] since then, she has appeared in films, including as
Traudl Junge ,
Adolf Hitler 's secretary, in the
Academy Award -nominated 2004 film
Downfall ; following this,
Francis Ford Coppola wrote her a letter and gave her a leading role in
Youth Without Youth (2007).
In 2007, she also appeared as Belgian journalist
Annik Honoré in the film
Control , the
Ian Curtis biopic. In 2008, she served as a member of the
Cannes Film Festival jury. She has also appeared in several French productions, including
Napoléon and
L'Affaire Farewell . She appeared in
The Reader and
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex which were both
nominated for the 81st Academy Awards , for best picture and best foreign language film, respectively.
In 2018, Lara starred with her real life husband
Sam Riley in
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead by
Ben Wheatley , playing his German girlfriend.
[3]
Alongside
Florian Gallenberger , Lara has been serving as president of the
Deutsche Filmakademie since 2022.
[4]
Personal life
Lara with husband
Sam Riley at the
70th Berlin International Film Festival on 20 February 2020
In August 2009, Lara married English actor
Sam Riley , with whom she acted in the films
Control and
Suite Française .
[5] In January 2014, she gave birth to their first child, a boy.
[6]
[7] They also played a couple on-screen in
Ben Wheatley 's drama
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead .
Filmography
Stella Stellaris (1994, TV miniseries)
I Desire You (1995), as Mädchen am Bahnhof
Mensch, Pia! (1996, TV series, 10 episodes,
breakthrough role ), as Pia Mangold
Faust [
de ] : Tote weinen nicht (1997, TV series episode), as Laura
Das Vorsprechen (1997, Short), as Junge Schauspielerin
Girl's Trap – Death Comes Online [
de ] (1998, TV film), as Silke Hartmann
Tatort : Fürstenschüler (1998, TV series episode), as Kerstin
The Bubi Scholz Story [
de ] (1998, TV film), as Renate - jung
Polizeiruf 110 : Sumpf (1999, TV series episode), as Meike
Sperling (Sperling und der falsche Freund) (1999, TV series episode)
Our Island in the South Pacific (1999), as Sandra
Vertrauen ist alles (2000, TV film), as Jennifer Blankenburg
Lady Cop (ep. Die Geliebte des Killers) (2000, TV series episode), as Sabine Sasse
Fisimatenten (2000), as Hanna
Crazy (2000), as Melanie
Force Majeure (2000, TV film), as Nicolette
The Tunnel (2001, TV film), as Charlotte 'Lotte' Lohmann
Honolulu (2001), as Cleonise
99 Euro Films (2001) (segment "Privat")
Leo & Claire (2001), as Käthe Katzenberger
Liebe und Verrat (2002, TV film), as Marie Irimia
If It Don't Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer (2002), as Astrid
Schleudertrauma (2002, TV film), as Doreen
Naked (2002), as Annette
Napoléon (2002, TV miniseries), as Comtesse
Marie Walewska
Doctor Zhivago (2002, TV miniseries), as Tonya Gromyko Zhivago
Trenck [
de ] (2002, TV film), as Princess
Amélie (Anna Amalia)
The Wishing Tree [
de ] (2004, TV miniseries), as Camilla Senger, geb. Hofmann
Leise Krieger (2004, Short), as Nora
Downfall (2004, directed by
Oliver Hirschbiegel ), as
Traudl Junge
Cowgirl (2004), as Johanna 'Paula' Jakobi / Murderous Lady im Film Noir
About the Looking for and the Finding of Love [
de ] (2005), as Venus Morgenstern
The Fisherman and His Wife [
de ] (2005), as Ida
Offset (2006), as Brindusa Herghelegiu
Where Is Fred? (2006), as Denise Poppnick
The Company (2007, TV miniseries), as Lili
Control (2007, directed by
Anton Corbijn ), as Annik Honore
I Really Hate My Job (2007), as Suzie
Youth Without Youth (2007, directed by
Francis Ford Coppola ), as Veronica / Laura / Rupini
Miracle at St. Anna (2008, directed by
Spike Lee ), as Axis Sally
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008, directed by
Uli Edel ), as Petra Schelm
The Reader (2008, directed by
Stephen Daldry ), as Young Ilana Mather
Kaifeck Murder [
de ] (2009), as Juliana Lukas
The City of Your Final Destination (2009, directed by
James Ivory ), as Deirdre Rothemund
Farewell (2009), as Jessica
City of Life (2009), as Natalia Moldovan
The Nazi Officer's Wife (2010)
A Distant Neighborhood (2010, directed by
Sam Garbarski ), as Anna Verniaz
Small World (2010), as Simone Senn
Woman in Love [
de ] (2011, directed by
Detlev Buck ), as Sarah
Lullaby Ride [
de ] (2012), as Livia
Imagine (2012, directed by
Andrzej Jakimowski ), as Eva
Move On (2012), as Lena
Rush (2013, directed by
Ron Howard ), as Marlene Lauda
Suite Française (2015, directed by
Saul Dibb ), as Leah
The Most Beautiful Day (2016), as Mona
Robbi, Tobbi und das Fliewatüüt (2016), as Sharon Schalldämpfer
Sing (2016, directed by
Garth Jennings ), as Rosita (German
dubbing , originally performed by
Reese Witherspoon )
Vier gegen die Bank (2016, directed by
Wolfgang Petersen ), as Freddie
Geostorm (2017, directed by
Dean Devlin ), as Ute Fassbinder
25 km/h (2018, directed by Marcus Goller), as Ingrid
Sealed Lips [
de ] (2018), as Antonia Berger
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (2018, directed by
Ben Wheatley ), as Hannah
The Collini Case (2019, directed by
Marco Kreuzpaintner ), as Johanna
Børning 3: Asphalt Burning (2020), as Robin
The King's Man (2021, directed by
Matthew Vaughn ), as Emily Oxford
The Sitting Duck (2022, directed by
Jean-Paul Salomé ), as Julie
References
External links
International National Artists People Other