Eva-Maria Hagen | |
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![]() Hagen in 1981 | |
Born | Eva-Maria Buchholz 19 October 1934 |
Died | 16 August 2022
Hamburg, Germany | (aged 87)
Occupation(s) | Actress and singer |
Years active | 1957–2022 |
Spouse | |
Partners |
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Children | Nina Hagen |
Relatives |
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Eva-Maria Hagen ( née Buchholz; German: [ˈeː.fa ma.ˈʁiː.a ˈhaːgŋ̩] ; 19 October 1934 – 16 August 2022) was a German actress and singer. She was known as the " Brigitte Bardot of the GDR" but was banned from performance for political reasons.
Hagen was born Eva-Maria Buchholz [2] in Költschen (present-day Poland) on 19 October 1934, [3] the daughter of farm workers from East Brandenburg. [4] In 1945, Költschen was occupied by the Soviet army and the family was expelled. [5] They moved to Perleberg, which became part of the GDR in 1949. [5]
In 1952, after completing an apprenticeship as a machinist, she was trained at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. [6] She joined the Berliner Ensemble in 1953. [7] Hagen made her theater debut in 1953 in Erwin Strittmatter's play Katzgraben directed by Bertolt Brecht at the Berliner Ensemble. [8]
In 1957, she made her film debut in Kurt Maetzig's comedy Don't Forget My Little Traudel. [9] Her film career led to her being called the " Brigitte Bardot of the GDR". [10] From 1958, she acted at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin. [1] At the Landestheater Dessau, she had continued success as the flower girl Eliza in the musical My Fair Lady. [3]
In 1965, she met Wolf Biermann. [5] Despite becoming a successful film actress she was sidelined because of her relationship with Biermann. [11] He was a singer-songwriter whose politics kept him unemployed. In 1972, Biermann and Hagen separated. [5] In 1976, she publicly protested against Biermann's expatriation. She was dismissed without notice from the German television broadcaster Deutscher Fernsehfunk (DFF) in the GDR and banned from working. [12] In 1977, Hagen's citizenship in the GDR was revoked, [13] and she moved to West Germany the same year. [7]
She built up a second career as a chanson singer in addition to film and theater. [14] After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Hagen made films in Babelsberg again, appeared on stage as Medea or Mother Courage or sang Brecht songs. [3] She painted in oil and went on reading tours with her own books. [13]
In 1954 she married Hans Oliva-Hagen and they had a child named Catharina, singer and actress Nina Hagen. [15] She divorced him in 1959 [16] over psychological issues. [17]
Hagen lived in Hamburg, Berlin and the Uckermark. [18] She is the grandmother of Cosma Shiva Hagen. [15]
Hagen died on 16 August 2022 in Hamburg, at the age of 87. [3] [8]
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