Ilka Bessin (born 18 November 1971) is a German comedian and actress, best known for her role as Cindy aus Marzahn (German for "Cindy from

Marzahn Marzahn () is a locality within the boroughs and localities of Berlin, borough of Marzahn-Hellersdorf in Berlin. Berlin's 2001 administrative reform led to the former boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf fusing into a single new borough. In the ...

").

Early life

Ilka Bessin was born in

Luckenwalde Luckenwalde (; Upper Sorbian language, Upper and , , ) is the capital of the Teltow-Fläming district in the state of Brandenburg in eastern Germany. It is situated on the Nuthe river north of the Fläming Heath, at the eastern rim of the Nuthe-Ni ...

, East Germany. After finishing school, she studied culinary arts and later trained to be a hotel manager. She worked as a chef until the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

fell in 1989, and Germany was reunified. After that she became a bartender and a discothèque manager. In 1999, she began a totally new career as an entertainment director and comedy performer on a cruise liner. It was there that she invented her most famous character "Cindy aus Marzahn." Marzahn is a blue collar section of the former East Berlin.

Career start

In 2004, Ilka won the final season of the

ProSieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...

network's

Quatsch Comedy Club Thomas Hermanns (born 5 March 1963) is a German TV presenter, comedian, screenwriter and director. He is the founder of the comedy show ''Quatsch Comedy Club''. Early life Hermanns was born in Bochum. During his childhood, he lived in Nuremberg. ...

stand-up show. With this win, her career as a comedian and actress began. In 2009, she was set in the role of the landlady Ilka in the

Sat.1 Sat.1 () is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group. It is considered the first privately owned television network in Germany, having been launched in January 1984 as ''PKS'' ''(Programmgesell ...

comedy show

Schillerstraße ''Schillerstraße'' ("Schiller Street") was a German improvisational comedy show that aired weekly on Sat.1. It was recorded without a script and broadcast unedited to a large extent. The American broadcaster Fox has earned the licence for ''Schi ...

. In January 2010, she started her own comedy show, named ''Cindy aus Marzahn und die jungen Wilden'' ("Cindy from Marzahn and the Wild Youth"). In spring 2011, the third season started ''Nicht jeder Prinz kommt uff'm Pferd!'' ("Not Every Prince Comes on a Horse"). Followed by the Pink is Bjutiful 2013.Cindy aus Marzahn Tourdates
Vorverkaufstarts.de. Retrieved October 24. 2013.

Cindy aus Marzahn

Bessin as Cindy aus Marzahn, 2008 Cindy aus Marzahn is a fictional character from the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

working class area

. Her character of a frumpy, sarcastic "Ossie" housewife has endeared her to millions of Germans, Swiss and Austrians, and she is one of the most famous and highly paid female entertainers and comedians in those countries. Her humorous observations about everyday life can be compared to

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952), also known mononymously as Roseanne, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (19 ...

of the USA, with more sweetness added. Cindy is most famous for her flaming pink velour track suit, and curly blond hair, with over-the-top makeup. Cindy's television comedy specials, usually taped in

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East Berlin, East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chem ...

, Germany, consistently attract strong audiences, and top guest stars and comedians from German comedy. Following the retirement of

Thomas Gottschalk Thomas Johannes Gottschalk (born 18 May 1950 in Bamberg) is a German radio and television host and entertainer. He is best known for hosting ''Wetten, dass..?'', for many years Europe's biggest television show, which he steered to huge success i ...

and

Michelle Hunziker Michelle Yvonne Hunziker (, ; born 24 January 1977) is a Swiss and Italian television presenter and former model. She hosted the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel, Switzerland alongside Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer. Early ...

as presenters of the very famous German TV show " Wetten, dass..?", she assisted new presenter

Markus Lanz Markus Lanz (born 16 March 1969) is an Italian television presenter based in Germany. Early life Lanz is a member of the German-speaking majority in the Italian province of South Tyrol. He grew up in Geiselsberg, a village located 1,344 met ...

as a co-host.

Tours

* 2007–2008: ''Schizophren – Ich wollte ’ne Prinzessin sein'' ("Schizophrenic - I Wanted to Be a Princess") * 2009–2012: ''Nicht jeder Prinz kommt uff’m Pferd'' ("Not Every Prince Comes on a Horse") * 2013–2014: ''PINK IS BJUTIFUL''

Awards

* 2007: ''

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 ...

as Best Newcomer'', * 2009: ''German Comedy Award as Best Female Comedian'', * 2009: ''German Comedy Award as Best TV-Soloprogramm'', * 2010: ''German Comedy Award as Best Female Comedian'', * 2011: ''German Comedy Award as Best Female Comedian'', * 2012: ''Record for Schitzophrenics - "I Wanted to Be a Princess!" (Video-Comedy-Award)'' * 2012: ''German Comedy Award as Best Female Comedian''

References

External links

*
Interview mit Ilka Bessin

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110113213443/http://www.mdr.de/riverboat/gaeste/6711511.html MDR.de: ''Cindy aus Marzahn im Porträt''
Interview mit Ilka Bessin alias Cindy aus Marzahn, September 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bessin, Ilka 1971 births Living people People from Luckenwalde People from Bezirk Potsdam German women comedians German television actresses Sat.1 people 20th-century German actresses Comedians from Brandenburg Actresses from Brandenburg