German actress Renate Krößner joins the growing number of famous faces to have a Google Doodle dedicated to her.
The star died three years ago in 2020 at the age of 75 following a short illness but left a huge legacy in German cinema with her most famous film, Solo Sunny.
The film, which was released in 1980, is widely considered one of country’s biggest ever cinematic exports – it follows the story of Ingrid “Sunny” Sommer as she tries to craft out a solo career after finding success with an East German band.
For her role, Krößner went on to win the Berlin International Film Festival’s Silver Bear for Best Actress, the most coveted prize in the German film industry, that same year.
The film’s success also granted her permission to leave the borders of East Germany to pursue her career further in West Berlin.
Google honoured German actress Renate Krößner with a doodle; the star’s legacy includes her most famous film, Solo Sunny, which she won a prestigious Silver Bear for in 1980
The Google Doodle paying tribute to the late German star
Considered a fashion icon, the flame-haired actress was also heralded for her personality, considered a strong-minded woman who would fight for her acting dreams.
To mark her 78th birthday, a Google Doodle honoured the star with the words: ‘Happy birthday Renate Krößner, your iconic performances are immortalised on the silver screen, and are just as captivating today.’
WHERE DID RENATE KROßNER GROW UP?
The star was born in Osterode in the Lower Saxony region of Germany at the Second World War’s end in 1945.
As a child, her parents moved to Berlin and her interest in drama grew – the young Renate would take part in school plays and eventually went on to study her art at Staatliche Schauspielschule in the now German capital.
Her film debut after college came in Lutz Köhlert’s Tiefe Furchen (1965) when she was just 20, another film role, ten years later, in Eine Pyramide für mich (1975). However, ahead of Sunny Solo, the role that really got her noticed was her biggest role to date in the film Bis daß der Tod euch Scheidet (1979).
WHO WAS SHE MARRIED TO AND DID SHE HAVE CHILDREN?
The star with her husband, fellow German Bernd Stegemann; the couple left East Germany in 1985 after being given permission to live in West Germany
Krößner married another German actor, Bernd Stegemann, who born in 1949, and achieved notable success in a long film career – he also starred in Solo Sunny.
The husband and wife were granted permission to move together from East to West Germany to enable them to follow their flourishing careers. The couple didn’t have children together.
Now 74, the actor lives just outside of Berlin.
WHAT IS HER MOST FAMOUS FILM?
Widely regarded as one of the greatest pieces of East German cinema, Solo Sunny was released in 1980, ten years before Germany’s reunification in 1990.
In the film, directed by Konrad Wolf and Wolfgang Kohlhaase’s, Krößner played a young singer named Sunny to wide critical acclaim. Sunny is desperate for her own solo career and the film documents how she unshackles from her bandmembers to find success.
It’s popularity quickly rippled beyond the borders of East Germany and became a low-key global success.
She went on to win the Berlin International Film Festival’s Silver Bear for Best Actress, the most coveted prize in the German film industry.
WHAT ELSE DID SHE APPEAR IN?
Pictured centre with co-stars on the film Von Fall zu Fall (From Case to Case)
After being granted permission to leave East Germany in 1985, the actress headed to West Berlin and became a TV star – appearing in shows including Einmal Bulle and Stubbe – Von Fall zu Fall. She soon became a household name in both East and West Germany.
Her film career flourished with roles in Bruder Esel, Unbesiegbar and Alles auf Zucker. In later life, she continued to work with gusto, often taking roles from behind the scenes.
WHAT AWARDS DID SHE WIN?
Krößner’s gilded career saw her also pick up a Golden Lion for her role in Bruder Esel – she was also made a judge on the 41st Berlin International Film Festival
Alongside the Berlin International Film Festival’s Silver Bear for Best Actress, Krößner went on to pick up a string of awards throughout her long career.
Krößner added to her awards cabinet a Golden Lion – won for her role in Bruder Esel and she was made a judge on the 41st Berlin International Film Festival. Later she would also take home the Deutscher Filmpreis Best Actress award.
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