Helene Fischer (German:
">eˈleːnə ˈfɪʃɐ born 5 August 1984)
is a German ''
schlager'' singer. Since her debut in 2005, she has won numerous awards, including 17
Echo
In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...
awards, four "''Die Krone der Volksmusik''" awards, and three
Bambi
''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...
awards. She has sold at least 18 million records.
[Music certifications]
AT
CHDEDK
In June 2014, her multi-platinum 2013 album ''
Farbenspiel'' became the most downloaded album ever by a German artist and is currently the sixth-best-selling album of all time in Germany.
Her signature song "
Atemlos durch die Nacht" was the best-selling song in Germany in 2014. She has had the best-selling album of the year in Germany five times: in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018. She ranked No. 8 on
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
' list of "The World's Highest-Paid Women in Music 2018," earning US$ 32 million. Fischer has been referred to as the "Queen of
Schlager".
Early life
Helene Fischer was born in the Siberian city of
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...
, former
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
,
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, to Pyotr and Marina Fischer.
Her father worked as a physical education teacher, and her mother was an engineer. Her paternal grandparents were
Black Sea Germans
The Black Sea Germans (; ; ) are ethnic Germans who left their homelands (starting in the late-18th century, but mainly in the early-19th century at the behest of Emperor Alexander I of Russia, ), and settled in territories off the north coast ...
who were among those sent to
forced settlements in Kazakhstan and Siberia.
In 1988, at the age of three-and-a-half, she emigrated with her parents and her six-year-old sister to
Wöllstein
Wöllstein is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
The mu ...
, West Germany.
After graduating from high school, Fischer attended the Frankfurt Stage & Musical School for three years, where she studied singing and acting.
During this time, she performed on stage at the ''
Staatstheater Darmstadt
The Staatstheater Darmstadt (Darmstadt State Theatre) is a theatre company and building in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, presenting opera, ballet, plays and concerts. It is funded by the German states, state of Hesse and the city of Darmstadt. Its hi ...
'', as well as at the ''
Volkstheater Frankfurt''.
Fischer's debut on stage occurred on 14 May 2005, in a program by the TV channel
ARD. It was a duet with ''schlager'' singer
Florian Silbereisen. The two later became a couple.
She has won 17
Echo awards
Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The first ECHO Awards ceremony was held in 1992, and was set up to honor ...
, the "''Goldene Henne''" award seven times, and the "''Krone der Volksmusik''" prize four times. All her albums and DVDs have achieved multiple gold and double
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
certifications. Her songs, with their stories of the everyday worries and woes of home-loving folks, are lyrically close to what could be called "country music," although musically quite different.
Her fanbase extends beyond Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, Finland, and New Zealand.
She released her first English album, ''The English Ones,'' on 7 June 2010. The album was produced by (Erich Ließmann), a German producer, composer, and arranger. On singing in English, Fischer commented: "I have always dreamed of singing my songs in another language. English is the language of
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
, the music that we call ''Schlager.'' Language is a tool, but it is important that what you sing comes from the heart – and that is what this album is about."

In January 2013, she made her acting debut in an episode of the German TV series ''
Das Traumschiff''.
On 4 October 2013, she released her album ''
Farbenspiel'' in Germany. She went on tour in 2014 and embarked on a major stadium tour in 2015. She performed at the
Olympia Stadium in Berlin in front of 120,000 people. The album received platinum certification after just five days in Germany, Denmark, and Austria. ''Farbenspiel'' became the most successful release by a German female artist in the first week of release in the past decade. To date, over 2.4 million copies of the album have been sold.
On 13 November 2015, Fischer released a Christmas album entitled ''Weihnachten''. It consists of two CDs, the first featuring Christmas songs sung in German and German dialects, and the second featuring songs sung in English. The album reached number 1 on the year-end charts in both Germany and Austria and received a total of 14 platinum certifications in both countries. It sold over 1.3 million copies.
In 2016, she sang the German version of "
How Far I'll Go" ("Ich bin bereit"), the title song from Disney's ''
Moana''.
On 12 May 2017, she released her eighth studio album, titled ''Helene Fischer''. It was released by Polydor. The album debuted at number one on the Austrian, German, and Swiss Albums Charts and reached the top ten in the Netherlands and the
Flemish region
The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. ...
of Belgium. In Germany, ''Helene Fischer'' sold more than 300,000 copies in its first week of release, making it the highest-selling debut since
Herbert Grönemeyer's 2002 album ''Mensch''. The album won nine platinum certifications in Germany and Austria and has sold over 1 million copies in both countries to date. She performed all her new songs, along with several hits from previous albums, at the Kesselhaus in Munich, and released the album ''Helene Fischer – Das Konzert aus dem Kesselhaus'', showcasing this performance.
In June 2018, she began her second stadium tour, performing in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Austria. In several locations on this tour, she performed up to five times in a row. Her show was developed in collaboration with 45 Degrees of
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...
. In October 2018, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' ranked Fischer seventh in terms of the world's biggest touring musical acts of the year. In the 2018
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
list of top-earning female artists worldwide, she ranked 8th.
This also makes her the most successful non-English singer currently.
Fischer performed at the
SnowpenAir 2022 Music Festival in
Grindelwald Terminal in the
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
...
. There, she sang the
protest song
A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for protest and social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre.
...
Freiheit (song)
"Freiheit", also known as "Spaniens Himmel" or "Die Thälmann-Kolonne", is a song written in 1936 by Gudrun Kabisch and Paul Dessau, German anti-fascists. The song was written for the International Brigades but later became a popular standard i ...
as her response to the most recent
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
and another instance of
forced resettlement
Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration that is often imposed by a state policy or international authority. Such mass migrations are most frequently spurred on the basis of ethnicity or religion, but they also occur d ...
by
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. Fischer wore a blue and yellow ribbon in solidarity with Ukraine, tearfully introducing the song by describing the sorrow experienced by Ukrainian families being resettled and torn apart by the war. She performed the song with blue and yellow highlights on the stage.
Discography

* ''
Von hier bis unendlich'' (2006)
* ''So nah wie du'' (2007)
* ''Zaubermond'' (2008)
* ''So wie ich bin'' (2009)
* ''
Für einen Tag'' (2011)
* ''
Farbenspiel'' (2013)
* ''
Weihnachten
Weihnachten () is the observance of what is commonly known in English as Christmas in the German-speaking countries such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It is also widespread in countries with a German-speaking minority, such as Transylvani ...
'' (2015)
* ''
Helene Fischer'' (2017)
* ''Rausch'' (2021)
* ''Die schönsten Kinderlieder'' (2024)
Guest appearances and duets
*
Eros Ramazzotti
Eros Walter Luciano Ramazzotti (; born 28 October 1963) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer and songwriter. He is popular in Italy and most European countries, and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, as he has released most of his albums in bo ...
: album ''
Vita ce n'è
''Vita ce n'è'' ( English: "There's Life") is the fourteenth studio album by Eros Ramazzotti, released on 23 November 2018 through Polydor Records. It was also released in a Spanish version titled ''Hay vida''. It is supported by the lead single ...
'' – "''Per il resto tutto bene''" (2018)
*
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera".
Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...
: album ''
Passione'' – "
When I Fall in Love
"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in Howard Hughes' last film '' One Minute to Zero'' as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southe ...
" (2013)
*
Michael Bolton
Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...
: Various duets, e.g. "Make You Feel My Love", "''Vivo Per Lei''"
*
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...
: album ''The Christmas Present'' – "
Santa Baby" (2019)
* "
Just Pretend" by
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
and Helene Fischer, featuring
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...
* "Voilà" with young
Emma Kok (2023)
Tours
* ''Mut zum Gefühl – Live 2008''
* ''Zum ersten Mal mit Band und Orchester Live'' (2011)
* ''Für einen Tag Live'' (2012)
* ''Open Air-Tour 2013''
* ''
Farbenspiel Live'' (2014/2015)
* ''
Helene Fischer Live 2017/2018''
* ''Die Stadion-Tour 2018''
* ''Rausch Live'' (2023)
* ''360° Stadion Tour'' (2026)
Awards
Bambi
* 2013: for ''Musik national''
* 2014: for Entertainment
* 2017: for ''Musik national''
Echo
* 2009: for ''Deutschsprachiger Schlager''
* 2009: for ''DVD Produktion des Jahres'' (Mut zum Gefühl Live)
* 2010: for ''DVD Produktion national'' (Zaubermond Live)
* 2012: for ''Deutschsprachiger Schlager''
* 2013: for ''DVD Produktion national'' (Für einen Tag – Live 2012)
* 2013: for ''Deutschsprachiger Schlager''
* 2014: for ''Album des Jahres''
* 2014: for ''Deutschsprachiger Schlager''
* 2015: for ''Schlager''
* 2015: for ''Album des Jahres''
* 2015: for ''Hit des Jahres''
* 2015: for ''Musik-DVD/Blu-Ray national''
* 2016: for ''Musik-DVD/Blu-Ray national'' (Weihnachten), (Farbenspiel Live)
* 2016: for ''Album des Jahres''
* 2016: for Live-Act ''national''
* 2016: for ''Crossover''
* 2018: for ''Schlager''
Goldene Henne
* 2007: for ''Aufsteigerin des Jahres''
* 2008: for ''Musik''
* 2010: for ''Leserpreis Musik''
* 2012: for ''Publikumspreis Musik''
* 2014: for ''Musik''
* 2014: ''Superhenne'' (Special 20th Anniversary Award)
* 2016: for ''Musik''
* 2020: for Entertainment with ''Die Helene Fischer Show 2019''
Goldene Kamera
* 2012: for ''Beste Musik national''
* 2016: for ''Beliebtester deutscher Musik-Act''
Krone der Volksmusik
* 2008: for the ''Erfolg des Jahres 2007''
* 2009: for the ''Erfolg des Jahres 2008''
* 2010: as ''Erfolgreichste Sängerin 2009''
* 2012: as ''Erfolgreichste Sängerin 2011''
Romy
* 2014: as ''Beliebteste Moderatorin – Show''
World Music Awards
* 2014: Best-selling German Artist
Personal life
From May 2008, Fischer was in a relationship with
Florian Silbereisen. The two were regarded as the "dream couple of German pop music" and frequently became the subject of speculative tabloid headlines. In December 2018, they announced that they had been separated for some time and had remained friends. Fischer later revealed that her new partner was aerial acrobat Thomas Seitel, with whom she collaborates in her stage shows. In December 2021, the couple married and welcomed a daughter. Later that same year, they moved into a house
in
Inning am Ammersee
Inning is a municipality in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Starnberg, in the Regierungsbezirk of Oberbayern. It lies on the shores of lake Ammersee
Ammersee (; English: Lake Ammer) is a '' Zungenbecken'' lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany ...
, where the family has lived ever since.
Social Engagement and Political Statements
Fischer has generally refrained from making political statements in the past. However, she expressed clear opposition to
discrimination
Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...
,
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
, hatred, and violence in an interview with the magazine "
Stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...
." She described these as poisonous to society and called for the defense of
democratic values, urging people to stand against
extremism
Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...
by participating in elections and resisting intimidation from antidemocratic forces.
Her remarks sparked controversy among her fans, particularly among suspected supporters of the
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
party
AfD
Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a far-right,Far-right:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Germany. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), ...
in Germany, who subsequently spread hateful messages under her Instagram posts and criticized her. On the other hand, she also received support for her outspoken stance against racism and antidemocratic
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
. Some users praised her for publicly taking a stand and positioning herself against the far-right, with some declaring themselves new fans because of her opposition to hatred and intolerance. Fischer is not the only celebrity to have spoken out in the "Stern" magazine.
Other well-known personalities such as
Udo Lindenberg
Udo Lindenberg (born 17 May 1946) is a German singer, composer, and painter.
Career
Lindenberg started his musical career as a drummer. In 1969, he founded his first band Free Orbit, and also appeared as a studio and guest musician (with Micha ...
,
Collien Ulmen-Fernandes,
Maite Kelly,
Roland Kaiser,
Mario Barth,
Atze Schröder,
Florian David Fitz, and
Michael "Bully" Herbig have also expressed their opinions on social and political issues.
References
External links
Official website(in German)
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Helene
1984 births
Living people
People from Alzey-Worms
German female dancers
German television presenters
German actresses
Russian and Soviet-German people
Soviet emigrants to Germany
Echo (music award) winners
Schlager musicians
Volga German people
21st-century German women singers
German women television presenters
Actresses from Rhineland-Palatinate