Hella Kemper (born 2 February 1959), known by her stage name Hella von Sinnen (lit. ''Hella out of her mind'', making pun of the aristocratic "

von The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de ...

"), is a German entertainer and television presenter. She has been a regular on several TV shows on German private channels, mainly RTL. Von Sinnen has been socially committed to people with HIV for many years and played the nurse Rita in Rosa von Praunheim 's film ''

A Virus Knows No Morals ''A Virus Knows No Morals'' (german: Ein Virus kennt keine Moral) is a 1986 German film directed, written and produced by Rosa von Praunheim. It was one of the first feature films about AIDS worldwide. The film also received much attention abroa ...

'' (1986), one of the first feature films about

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

Career

Since the show's first air date on 11 January 2003, von Sinnen has served as one of two (until 2011 together with Bernhard Hoëcker and since 2017 with

Wigald Boning Wigald Boning (born 20 January 1967) is a German comedian, television presenter, actor, and author. Boning has appeared in different TV and film productions in Germany. He became famous as an actor in the television comedy programme ''RTL Sams ...

) permanent panel members of the weekly Sat.1

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

show ''Genial daneben'' (lit. ''ingeniously off the mark''). In the show, von Sinnen, Hoëcker and three varying comedians try to answer strange questions sent in by the audience. Since 2018, she is a panel member of the spin-off ''Genial daneben – Das Quiz''. Since April 2017 she hosts the ComicTalk on the fee-paying, only german Online-Portal Massengeschmack-TV.

Personal life

Von Sinnen supports same-sex marriage in Germany. She was in a long-time relationship with Cornelia Scheel, the adopted daughter of

Walter Scheel Walter Scheel (; 8 July 1919 – 24 August 2016) was a German statesman. A member of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), he first served in government as the Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development from 1961 to 1966 and l ...

who was the

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...

from 1974 to 1979.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1986), as nurse Rita * ''

Killer Condom ''Killer Condom'' (original title ''Kondom des Grauens'' (English: Condom of Horror)) is a 1996 German horror comedy directed by Martin Walz. It is based on the comic books ''Kondom des Grauens'' and ''Bis auf die Knochen'' ("Down to the Bones") by ...

'' (1996), as Detective Sally * '' Venus and Mars'' (2001), as Bertha * ''Crazy About Paris '' (2002), as Blumenverkäuferin * ''Neues vom Wixxer'' (2007), as Schwester Stephanie *'' Ein Schnupfen hätte auch gereicht'' (2017)

Awards

Von Sinnen in 2015 * 1990 –

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...

* 2006 –

German Comedy Award The Deutscher Comedypreis ("German Comedy Award") is awarded by Brainpool TV. Because Brainpool's in-house productions have received extensive awards, the designation as the ''German Comedy Award'' is controversial. The awards ceremony takes plac ...

– Best Comedian * 2007 – Spectacle Wearer of the YearSehen.de , Das Portal für gutes Sehen. Ratgeber, Gesundheit, Styling
(in German) As a permanent panel member of ''Genial daneben'' (together with Bernhard Hoëcker and

Hugo Egon Balder Hugo Egon Balder (born Egon Hugo Balder; 22 March 1950) is a German television presenter, producer, and comedian. Early life Balder was born in West Berlin to Egon Friedrich Balder (1904–1970) and Gerda Balder (née Schure; 1910–1997). Ger ...

): * 2003 and 2006 –

– Best Comedy Show * 2004 –

German Television Award The Deutscher Fernsehpreis (''German Television Award'') is an annual German award for television programming, created in 1999 by German television channels Das Erste, ZDF, RTL and Sat.1. It was created to be an equivalent to the Emmy Awards, t ...

– Best Entertainment Show / Best Presentation of an Entertainment Show

References

External links

* 1959 births German women comedians German game show hosts German television personalities German LGBT broadcasters Lesbian comedians German LGBT comedians German LGBT rights activists Living people People from Gummersbach RTL Group people Sat.1 people {{LGBT-bio-stub