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Martina Gedeck, Actress

August 1, 2014

Berlin-based actress Martina Gedeck rapidly rose to fame in Germany thanks to her versatile acting skills.

https://p.dw.com/p/1CnHp

Talking Germany

International audiences have also come to know her through her appearances in films like The Lives of Others and The Good Shepherd. On Talking Germany, Gedeck talks about her current film projects, her nomadic lifestyle and her idea of home.

Martina Gedeck was born in Munich in 1961 and spent her first years in Landshut. In 1971 she and her family moved to Berlin. She started acting in children's shows on television at the age of eleven. She started studying literature and history but soon gave that up, and instead studied acting. She graduated in 1986.

Her career took off swiftly and she has worked in many genres on the stage, in film and on television. She has performed in many films in several languages. Her biggest international hit to date is The Life of Others about love and betrayal in the old East Germany.

Her personal life has been marked by tragedy: Her then boyfriend, the actor Ulrich Wildgruber, killed himself in 1999.

Martina Gedeck lives in Berlin but describes herself as a nomad. (First broadcast on 25 November 2013)