Iris Renate Dorothea Berben (, born 12 August 1950) is a German actress.

Biography

Berben was born in

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

. She grew up in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, where her parents ran a restaurant. Berben has appeared in about 150 film and television productions since 1969. Until today, Berben plays leading roles in a large number of German television productions, including the sitcom ''

Zwei himmlische Töchter ''Zwei himmlische Töchter'' (English: ''Two Heavenly Daughters'') is a West German television series. See also *List of German television series The following is a list of television series produced in Germany: Current Drama * ''4 Blocks ...

'' in the 1970s and the comedy show ''

Sketchup SketchUp is a proprietary 3D modeling software that is used to create and manipulate 3D models. It is used in architecture and interior design. SketchUp is owned by Trimble (company), Trimble Inc. The software has a free web-based version, and ...

'' with Diether Krebs in the 1980s. One of her best-known roles is the title character, a no-nonsense police commissioner, in the long-running crime series '' Rosa Roth'' between 1994 and 2013. Among her film roles are

Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer. He was one of the main exponents of the Spaghetti Western genre during the 1960s and 1970s, with his most notable work ...

's western '' Compañeros'' (1970) with

Franco Nero Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film '' Django'' (1966), which made him a pop cul ...

, the

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

film adaption '' Die Buddenbrooks'' (2008) and the barmaid Petra in the sport film '' Eddie the Eagle'' (2016). After the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

in 1967, she travelled to Israel, and afterwards became the partner of the Israeli singer Abi Ofarim. Since then, she has been a supporter of Israel and has also repeatedly campaigned against

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. She had a son, Oliver, in 1971, but never revealed the identity of the father. In 2010, together with

Bruno Ganz Bruno Ganz (; 22 March 1941 – 16 February 2019) was a Swiss actor whose career in German stage, television and film productions spanned nearly 60 years. He was known for his collaborations with the directors Werner Herzog, Éric Rohmer, Franc ...

, Berben was elected president of the German Film Academy. She served as a SPD delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2017.Ralf Euler (23 November 2016)
45 Hessen wählen mit
''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The (; ''FAZ''; "Frankfurt General Newspaper") is a German newspaper founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt and is considered a newspaper of record for Germany. Its Sunday edition is the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung'' ( ...

''.

Filmography

* ''

Detectives A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

'' (1969) * ''

The Man with the Glass Eye ''The Man with the Glass Eye'' (German: ''Der Mann mit dem Glasauge'') is a 1969 West German crime film directed by Alfred Vohrer and starring Horst Tappert, Karin Hübner and Hubert von Meyerinck. It is part of Rialto Film's long-running series ...

'' (1969) * ' (1969) * ' (1970) * '' Compañeros'' (1970) * ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

'' (1971) * ''Ulla oder Die Flucht in die schwarzen Wälder'' (1974, TV film) * ''Mademoiselle de Scuderi'' (1976, TV film) * ''Tea for Three'' (1976) * ''

Derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its Guy-wire, guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower ...

'' – Series 4, Episode 3: "Eine Nacht im Oktober" (1977, TV) * ''

'' (1978, TV series) * ''

'' – Series 5, Episode 6: "Klavierkonzert" (1978, TV) * '' Ach du lieber Harry'' (1980) * ' (1983) * '' Angelo und Luzy'' (1984, TV series) * ' (1984) * ' (1984) * ''Rallye Paris – Dakar'' (1984) * ''Beinahe Trinidad'' (1985) * ''

'' (1985–1986, TV series) * ''Rückfahrt in den Tod'' (1986, TV film) * '' Das Erbe der Guldenburgs'' (1986–1990, TV series) * ' (1988, TV film) * ' (1988) * ' (1989, TV film) * ' (1990, TV film) * '' The Second Life'' (1990, TV film) * ''Saint Peter's Snow'' (1991, TV film) * ' (1991) * ' (1992) * ' (1992, TV film) * ''Dornberger'' (1992, TV film) * ' (1992, TV film) * ''

A Man for My Wife ''A Man for My Wife'' () is a 1943 German comedy film directed by Hubert Marischka and starring Magda Schneider, Johannes Riemann and Clementia Egies. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Hans Ledersteger and Ernst Richter (art dir ...

'' (1993, TV film) * ' (1994, TV film) * ' (1994, TV film) * ' (1995) * '' Rosa Roth'' (1994–2013, TV series, 31 episodes) * ' (1996) * '' Code Red'' (1997, TV film) * ' (1998, TV film) * ' (1998, TV film) * ' (1998) * '' Am I Beautiful?'' (1998) * ' (1998, TV film) * ' (1999, TV film) * ''Ein mörderischer Plan'' (2000, TV film) * ' (2000, TV film) * ' (2001, TV film) * ''Wer liebt, hat Recht'' (2001, TV film) * '' 666 – Traue keinem, mit dem du schläfst!'' (2001) * ' (2002, TV film) * ' (2002, TV film) * ' (2004, TV film) * ''Die Patriarchin'' (2005, TV miniseries) * ' (2005, TV film) * ' (2006, TV film) * ' (2006, TV film) * ''Afrika, mon amour'' (2007, TV miniseries) * ' (2007, TV film) * ' (2007, TV film) * ' (2008, TV film) * '' Die Buddenbrooks'' (2008) * ' (2009, TV miniseries) * ' (2009) * ' (2010, TV film) * ' (2010) * ' (2011, TV film) * ' (2012) * ' (2013, TV film) * ' (2014) * ' (2014, TV film) * '' Traumfrauen'' (2015) * '' Eddie the Eagle'' (2015) * ' (2016, TV film) * ' (2018, TV film) * '' How About Adolf?'' (2018) * ' (2022) * '' Triangle of Sadness'' (2022) * '' The Interpreter of Silence'' (2023)

Audiobooks (excerpt)

* 2005:

Françoise Sagan Françoise Sagan (; born Françoise Delphine Quoirez; 21 June 1935 – 24 September 2004) was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois ch ...

, ''Bonjour Tristesse''. Publisher:

Random House Audio Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the followi ...

Köln, . * 2006: Minka Pradelski, ''Und da kam Frau Kugelmann''. Publisher: Random House Audio Köln, . * 2007: Anna Gmeyner, ''Manja''. Publisher: Hörkultur, . * 2010:

Petra Hammesfahr Petra Hammesfahr (; born 10 May 1951) is a German crime writer. She has won several awards, including the Crime Prize of Wiesbaden and the Rhineland Literary Prize. Hammesfahr was born in Immerath (Erkelenz), North Rhine-Westphalia. Her first ...

, ''Die Mutter''. Publisher: Random House Audio Köln, gekürzt 4 CDs 296 Min., * 2011:

Marina Lewycka Marina Lewycka ( ; born 12 October 1946) is a British novelist of Ukraine, Ukrainian origin. Early life Lewycka was born in a refugee camp in Kiel after World War II. Her family subsequently moved to England; she now lives in Sheffield, South ...

, ''Kurze Geschichte des Traktors auf Ukrainisch''. Publisher: Random House Audio Köln, . * 2011: Iris Berben liest ''Verbrannte Bücher – Verfemte Komponisten''. Publisher:

Verlag Herder Verlag Herder is a publishing company started by the Herders, a German family. The company focuses primarily on Catholic topics of ecclesiology, Christian mysticism, women's studies, and the development of younger Catholic theologians. History ...

, . * 2015: Brüder Grimm (Brothers Grimm), ''Brüderchen und Schwesterchen''. Publisher: Amor Verlag, . * 2015: Brüder Grimm (Brothers Grimm), ''Frau Holle''. Publisher: Amor Verlag, . * 2016:

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

, ''Die kleine Meerjungfrau'' (

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...

). Publisher: Amor Verlag, . * 2017: David Walliams, ''Zombie-Zahnarzt'', publisher: Argon Verlag, . * 2021: Petra Hammesfahr, ''Der stille Herr Genardy'', publisher: Lübbe Audio, ISBN 978-3-7540-0054-0 (

Audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

-Download)

Awards

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic ...

1997 *

Goldene Europa Goldene Europa award is the oldest German Television award for artists and entertainers. It was awarded from 1968 to 2003. In the years 1989 and 2001, there were no ceremonies. Since 1981, the gala was broadcast on television. The original sculptu ...

GALA-Sonderpreis 2000 * Scopus Award 2001 *

Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

2003 *

Women's World Award Winners of the Women's World Award, sponsored by the World Awards organization headed by former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev, intended for women who have influenced the world by their work in areas such as society or politics. The aw ...

– World Tolerance Award 2004 * Bayerischer Verdienstorden 2005 * Karl Valentin Order 2007 * Platinum Romy Award 2018 * Golden Eye Award,

Zurich Film Festival Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, secon ...

2020

References

External links

* *
Laudation on the occasion of the awarding
with the Leo-Baeck-Preis 2002 to Iris Berben on 3 September 2002 by

Paul Spiegel Paul Spiegel (31 December 1937, in Warendorf, Germany – 30 April 2006, in Düsseldorf, Germany) was leader of the Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) and the main spokesman of the German Judaism, Jews. He was ...

Iris Berben
at the German Dubbing Card Index {{DEFAULTSORT:Berben, Iris 1950 births Living people Activists against antisemitism German Christian Zionists German film actresses German television actresses German voice actresses Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Opposition to antisemitism in Germany People from Detmold Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin Spaghetti Western actresses 20th-century German actresses 21st-century German actresses Actresses from North Rhine-Westphalia Actresses from Hamburg