Renate Krößner also known as Renate Krössner (17 May 194525 May 2020) was a German actress who was internationally recognized for roles in films and television. She was awarded the

Silver Bear for Best Actress The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chos ...

of the

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

for the title role in the 1980 film '' Solo Sunny''. From 1985, she worked in West Berlin and was known for roles in TV series such as '' Tatort'' and ''Einmal Bulle, immer Bulle''.

Early life and education

Krößner was born in

Osterode am Harz Osterode am Harz, often simply called Osterode (; Eastphalian: ''Ostroe''), is a town in south-eastern Niedersachsen on the south-western edge of the Harz mountains. It was the seat of government of the district of Osterode. Osterode is locat ...

, the daughter of a teacher. She grew up in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and appeared in school theatre productions. She was trained at the Staatliche Schauspielschule, earning her diploma at age 19, and then worked at several provincial theatres in the

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Career

Krößner first played small roles for TV productions from the mid-1960s, and appeared in her first film in 1965, ' directed by , and in a somewhat larger role ten years later in Ralf Kirsten's '. She made her national and international breakthrough as Tilli in ' in 1979, directed by

Heiner Carow Heiner Carow (19 September 1929 – 1 February 1997) was a German film director and screenwriter. His 1986 film '' So Many Dreams'' was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival. The following year, he was a member of the jury at ...

, portraying a woman's best friend in a film about violence in a young marriage. Krößner appeared in the title role of the

DEFA DEFA (''Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft'') was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) throughout the country's existence. Since 2019, DEFA's film heritage has been made accessible and licensable on the PRO ...

film '' Solo Sunny'' in 1980, written by

Wolfgang Kohlhaase Wolfgang Kohlhaase (13 March 1931 – 5 October 2022) was a German screenwriter, film director, and writer. He was considered "one of the most important screenwriters in German film history", and was one of the GDR's most well-known and prolific ...

and directed by

Konrad Wolf Konrad Wolf (20 October 1925 – 7 March 1982) was an East German film director. He was the son of writer, doctor and diplomat Friedrich Wolf, and the younger brother of Stasi spymaster Markus Wolf. "Koni" was his nickname. Biography Beca ...

, and remained identified with this role of a young woman from

Prenzlauer Berg Prenzlauer Berg () is a locality of Berlin, forming the southerly and most urban district of the borough of Pankow. From its founding in 1920 until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a district of Berlin in its own right. However, that year it was incor ...

, a factory worker who dreams of artistic freedom as a singer, touring with a mediocre band, and in conflict with social conventions of the period. For her character role, she was awarded the

at the

30th Berlin International Film Festival The 30th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 18–29 February 1980. The Golden Bear was awarded to the American film ''Heartland'' directed by Richard Pearce and West German film '' Palermo oder Wolfsburg'' directed by Werne ...

. It was the first Berlinale award for an East German production. In 1985, Krößner and her husband, the actor , moved to

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

where she played on stage, with guest performances. She played in ' (1993) and '' Alles auf Zucker!'' (2004). In television, she appeared in the series '' Tatort'', ', ''

Stubbe – Von Fall zu Fall ''Stubbe – Von Fall zu Fall'' (at the beginning only called ''Von Fall zu Fall'' and sometimes only called ''Stubbe'') is a German crime detective television series starring Wolfgang Stumph as detective Stubbe. It is being broadcast on ZDF, the ...

'' and '. In 1993, she won a Deutscher Filmpreis Best Actress award for her work in ''North Curve''. In 1991, Krößner was a member of the jury at the

41st Berlin International Film Festival The 41st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1991. The festival opened with ''Uranus'' by Claude Berri. The Golden Bear was awarded to Italian film '' La casa del sorriso'' directed by Marco Ferreri. The ret ...

Death

On 25 May 2020, Krößner died after a short illness at the age of 75.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krossner, Renate 1945 births 2020 deaths People from Osterode am Harz German film actresses Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Silver Bear for Best Actress winners Best Actress German Film Award winners German television actresses 20th-century German actresses 21st-century German actresses