Susanne Lothar (15 November 1960 – 21 July 2012) was a German film, television and stage actress.

Early life and education

Susanne Lothar was born on 15 November 1960 in Hamburg, Germany. She was the daughter of actors

Hanns Lothar Hanns Lothar (born Hans Lothar Neutze; 10 April 1929 – 11 March 1967) was a German film actor. He appeared in 36 films between 1948 and 1966. He was born in Hannover, Germany and died in Hamburg, Germany. He was the father of actress Susa ...

and Ingrid Andree, who divorced in 1965, the year before her father's death. She studied drama at the Hochschule für Theater und Musik (School of Theatre and Music) in Hamburg."Susanne Lothar"
Prisma tv Guide (German)

Career

Lothar was a member of the company of the ''

Deutsches Schauspielhaus The Deutsches Schauspielhaus is a theatre in the St. Georg quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany. It was established in 1901 by the renowned stage actress Franziska Ellmenreich. Theatre managers Notable actors Marco Albrecht, Ingrid ...

'' theatre in Hamburg for many years and her performances include roles in

Frank Wedekind Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the de ...

's Lulu plays ('' Erdgeist'' (''Earth Spirit'') and '' Die Büchse der Pandora'' (''Pandora's Box'')), produced by

Peter Zadek Peter Zadek (; 19 May 1926 – 30 July 2009) was a German director of theatre, opera and film, a translator and a screenwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest directors in German-speaking theater. Biography Peter Zadek was born on 19 May ...

. For her first film ''Eisenhans'' (''Strange Fruits'', 1983), she received the prize for best young actress at the German Film Awards. With

Ulrich Mühe Friedrich Hans Ulrich Mühe (; 20 June 1953 – 22 July 2007) was a German film, television and theatre actor. He played the role of Hauptmann (Captain) Gerd Wiesler in the Oscar-winning film '' Das Leben der Anderen'' (''The Lives of Others'', 2 ...

, she appeared as the victimised married couple in the original version of

Michael Haneke Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, G ...

's '' Funny Games'' released in 1997. Lothar worked again with Haneke in '' The Castle'' (which also featured Mühe, 1997), as Mrs Schober in '' The Piano Teacher'' (2001), and ''

The White Ribbon ''The White Ribbon'' (german: Das weiße Band) is a 2009 German-language drama film, written and directed by Michael Haneke. Released in black-and-white, the film offers a dark depiction of society and family in a northern German village just be ...

'' (2009).

Personal life and death

Lothar married actor Ulrich Mühe in 1997; the couple had two children. Mühe died from cancer in 2007. Susanne Lothar's death was announced in a written statement by lawyer Christian Schertz, representing her family, on 25 July 2012. Though the cause of death was not publicly disclosed, Michael Haneke confirmed that she committed suicide in a special feature on the Criterion Collection release of ''Funny Games''. Lothar died just a day before the fifth anniversary of her husband's death.

Filmography

* ' (1983) * ''

The Mountain The Mountain (french: La Montagne) was a political group during the French Revolution. Its members, called the Montagnards (), sat on the highest benches in the National Convention. They were the most radical group and opposed the Girondins. Th ...

'' (1991) * '' The Democratic Terrorist'' (1992) * ''Benito (The Rise and Fall of Benito Mussolini)'' (1993) * '' Funny Games'' (1997) * '' The Castle'' (1997) * '' The Piano Teacher'' (2001) * '' Snowland'' (2005) * ''Under the Ice'' (2006) * ''Madonnas'' (2007) * '' The Reader'' (2008) * ' (2008) * ''

'' (2009) * '' Nemesis'' (2010) * ''Murder on the Orient Express'' (2010; TV) * '' The Coming Days'' (2010) * ''

If Not Us, Who? ''If Not Us, Who?'' (german: Wer wenn nicht wir) is a 2011 German drama film directed by Andres Veiel and starring August Diehl. The film is set in the late 1940s, the early 1960s, and at the beginning of the Protests of 1968. The film premiere ...

'' (2011) * '' Remembrance'' (2011) * ''Dust on Our Hearts'' (2012) * ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever writt ...

'' (2012)

References

External links

*
"Das erste Mal – Frau Lothar, wann sind Sie Sie selbst?"
''NZZFolio'' *
Traueranzeige (deutsch)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lothar, Susanne 1960 births 2012 deaths Actresses from Hamburg Best Actress German Film Award winners German film actresses German stage actresses German television actresses Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg alumni 20th-century German actresses 21st-century German actresses 2012 suicides Suicides in Germany