Alexandra Maria Lara (''née'' Plătăreanu; 12 November 1978) is a Romanian-German actress who has appeared in '' Downfall'' (2004), '' Control'' (2007), '' Youth Without Youth'' (2007), '' The Reader'' (2008), '' Rush'' (2013), and ''

Geostorm ''Geostorm'' is a 2017 American science-fiction disaster film directed, cowritten, and coproduced by Dean Devlin (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Ed Harris, and Andy García. It f ...

'' (2017).

Early life

Born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, Lara is the only child of Valentin Plătăreanu, an actor, and his wife, Doina. Her father was a successful actor and director in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, directing many plays such as

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and Hernani by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

. In 1983, her family immigrated to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

from their home in Bucharest,

. Although the family had originally planned to immigrate to Canada, they settled in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, before eventually moving to

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

. She gained fluency in German during this time.

Career

By sixteen she was playing lead roles in various television dramas; since then she has appeared in films, including as Traudl Junge,

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's secretary, in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-nominated 2004 film '' Downfall''; following this

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

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 biopic '' Control''. In 2008 she served as a member of the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

jury. She has also appeared in several French productions, including ''

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...

'' 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 husband, Sam Riley, in '' Happy New Year, Colin Burstead'' by

Ben Wheatley Ben Wheatley (born 1972) is an English filmmaker, film editor, and animator. Beginning his career in advertising, Wheatley first gained recognition and acclaim for his commercials and short films, before transitioning into feature films and tele ...

, playing his German girlfriend. Alongside

Florian Gallenberger Florian Gallenberger (born 23 February 1972 in Munich) is a German film director and writer. His film ''Quiero ser (I want to be...)'' was awarded the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2001. Career Gallenberger appeared in various ...

Lara has been serving as president of the

Deutsche Filmakademie The Deutsche Filmakademie is a German independently run organization with a focus on filmmaking. History The academy was founded in 2003 in Berlin, on the initiative of Helmut Dietl, Bernd Eichinger, and Ulrich Felsberg. It initially compris ...

since 2022.

Personal life

In August 2009 Lara married English actor Sam Riley, with whom she had acted in the films '' Control'' and '' Suite Française''. In January 2014 she gave birth to their first child, a boy. They played a couple on screen in

'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 A breakthrough role, also known as a breakout role, is a term in the theatre, film and television industry to describe the performance of an actor or actress which contributed significantly to the development of their career and beginning of crit ...

), as Pia Mangold *'': Tote weinen nicht'' (1997, TV series episode), as Laura *''Das Vorsprechen'' (1997, Short), as Junge Schauspielerin *' (1998, TV film), as Silke Hartmann *''

Tatort ("Crime Scene") is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-se ...

: Fürstenschüler'' (1998, TV series episode), as Kerstin *' (1998, TV film), as Renate - jung *''

Polizeiruf 110 ''Polizeiruf 110'' ("Police call 110") is a long-running German-language detective television series. The name refers to the emergency telephone number of the ''Volkspolizei''. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the German Democratic ...

: 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 *''Just Messing About'' (2000), as Hanna *''

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

'' (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 Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...

'' (2002), as Annette *''

'' (2002, TV miniseries), as Comtesse

Marie Walewska Marie Walewska, Countess Walewska (; ; 7 December 1786 – 11 December 1817) was a Polish noblewoman in the court of Napoleon I who used her influence to sway the emperor towards the creation of an independent Polish state. In her later years ...

*'' Doctor Zhivago'' (2002, TV miniseries), as Tonya Gromyko Zhivago *' (2002, TV film), as Princess Amélie (Anna Amalia) *' (2004, TV miniseries), as Camilla Senger, geb. Hofmann *''Leise Krieger'' (2004, Short), as Nora *'' Downfall'' (2004, directed by

Oliver Hirschbiegel Oliver Hirschbiegel (born 29 December 1957) is a German film director. His works include and the Oscar-nominated film about Adolf Hitler, '' Downfall''. Early life and education Oliver Hirschbiegel was born in Hamburg, West Germany on 29 Dece ...

), as Traudl Junge *''Cowgirl'' (2004), as Johanna 'Paula' Jakobi / Murderous Lady im Film Noir *' (2005), as Venus Morgenstern *' (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 Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner" ...

), as Annik Honore *'' I Really Hate My Job'' (2007), as Suzie *'' Youth Without Youth'' (2007, directed by

), as Veronica / Laura / Rupini *'' Miracle at St. Anna'' (2008, directed by

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

), as

Axis Sally Axis Sally was the generic nickname given to women radio personalities who broadcast English-language propaganda on behalf of the European Axis Powers during World War II. These included: * Mildred Gillars, a German American who broadcast for Naz ...

*''

The Baader Meinhof Complex ''The Baader Meinhof Complex'' ( ) is a 2008 German drama film directed by Uli Edel. Written and produced by Bernd Eichinger, it stars Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck, and Johanna Wokalek. The film is based on the 1985 German best selling non- ...

'' (2008, directed by

Uli Edel Ulrich "Uli" Edel (; born 11 April 1947) is a German film and television director, best known for his work on films such as ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'', '' Body of Evidence'' and '' The Baader Meinhof Complex.'' His '' Rasputin: Dark Servant of ...

), as Petra Schelm *'' The Reader'' (2008, directed by

Stephen Daldry Stephen David Daldry Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway theatre, Broadway and an Olivie ...

), as Young Ilana Mather *' (2009), as Juliana Lukas *'' The City of Your Final Destination'' (2009, directed by

James Ivory James Francis Ivory (born Richard Jerome Hazen June 7, 1928) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was a principal in Merchant Ivory Productions along with Indian film producer Ismail Merchant (his domestic and professio ...

), 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 Sam Garbarski (born 13 February 1948) is a Belgian film director and screenwriter. His film ''Irina Palm'' (2007) was awarded David di Donatello for Best European Film, Best European Film at the David di Donatello Awards, 53rd David di Donatello ...

), as Anna Verniaz *'' Small World'' (2010), as Simone Senn *' (2011, directed by Detlev Buck), as Sarah *' (2012), as Livia *'' Imagine'' (2012, directed by Andrzej Jakimowski), as Eva *''Move On'' (2012), as Lena *'' Rush'' (2013, directed by

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...

), as Marlene Lauda *'' Suite Française'' (2015, directed by

Saul Dibb Saul Dibb (born 18 August 1968) is an English director and screenwriter. His father is the documentary maker Mike Dibb. Born in London, England, Saul Dibb is a graduate of the University of East Anglia. He is best known for co-writing and direc ...

), as Leah *'' The Most Beautiful Day'' (2016), as Mona *''Robbi, Tobbi und das Fliewatüüt'' (2016), as Sharon Schalldämpfer *''

Sing Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

'' (2016, directed by Garth Jennings), as Rosita (German

dubbing Dubbing (also known as re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and the video production process where supplementary recordings (known as doubles) are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production audio to cr ...

, originally performed by

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

) *'' Vier gegen die Bank'' (2016, directed by

Wolfgang Petersen Wolfgang Petersen (14 March 1941 – 12 August 2022) was a German film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. His international breakthrough was the 1981 war film (1981), which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Directo ...

), as Freddie *''

'' (2017, directed by

Dean Devlin Dean Devlin (born August 27, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actor of film and television. He is best known for his collaborations with director Roland Emmerich, and for his work on the The Librarian (franchise), ''Li ...

), as Ute Fassbinder *'' 25 km/h'' (2018, directed by Marcus Goller), as Ingrid *' (2018), as Antonia Berger *'' Happy New Year, Colin Burstead'' (2018, directed by

), as Hannah *'' The Collini Case'' (2019, directed by

Marco Kreuzpaintner Marco Johann Kreuzpaintner (born 11 March 1977) is a German film director, screenwriter, showrunner and executive producer. He is known for his gay coming-of-age feature film ''Summer Storm (2004 film), Summer Storm'', the critical acclaimed Netfl ...

), as Johanna *''Børning 3: Asphalt Burning'' (2020), as Robin *''

The King's Man ''The King's Man'' is a 2021 spy action film directed by Matthew Vaughn from his story and a screenplay he wrote with Karl Gajdusek. The third instalment in the British ''Kingsman'' film series, which is based on the comic book '' The Secr ...

'' (2021, directed by

Matthew Vaughn Sir Matthew Allard Robert Vaughn (legal name Matthew Allard Robert de Vere Drummond; born 7 March 1971) is an English filmmaker. He has produced films including ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998) and ''Snatch (film), Snatch'' (2000 ...

), as Emily Oxford *'' The Sitting Duck'' (2022, directed by Jean-Paul Salomé), as Julie *''All Those Things We Never Said'' (2022, TV Series, France), as Julia Saurel

References

External links

* *
2005 interview
on cineastentreff.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Lara, Alexandra Maria 1978 births 21st-century German actresses Actresses from Bucharest Französisches Gymnasium Berlin alumni German film actresses Living people Romanian emigrants to Germany Romanian film actresses 21st-century Romanian actresses Actresses from Berlin