Born in Munich, Ziegler, the daughter of a whitewashing owner, was to marry a highly respected, wealthy man at her mother's request after the death of her father (1860). But she did not want to and took acting lessons from the court actor Adolf Christen, a long-time friend of the family.
Later, she went to the newly founded "Münchener Aktien-Volkstheater" (from 1872 Königl. Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz) in Munich, which was directed by her teacher Adolf Christen, and inaugurated the theatre as Isarnixe on November 4, 1865. She later accepted an engagement at the Altes Theater in Leipzig, but returned to Munich after only one year, where she was engaged at the court theatre in 1868. In 1870 and 1871, she accepted guest roles at the Staatsoper Hamburg and the Thalia-Theater in Hamburg.[1]
Ziegler gave guest performances at almost all renowned theatres. In 1874, she left the Hoftheater in Munich at her own request and after that she only had guest roles. On 11 August 1876, she married her teacher Adolf Christen, who was 33 years older than her. His death in 1883 depressed her so much that she didn't go on stage for two years.
Ziegler was famous for her speech technique and her expressive gestures and facial expressions. Beside tragedies she also excelled in comedies. Her leading roles were: Medea, Iphigenie, Maria Stuart, Isabella and Donna Diana. From 1888, she played at the Berliner Theater [de]. A serious illness put an end to her theatre career and she died in 1909 in Munich at the age of 65.[2] (Klara Ziegler is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive).
One year after her death the Clara Ziegler Foundation was founded and a theatre museum was opened in her castle-like villa in Munich near the English Garden. The Ziegler villa was destroyed during the bombing in 1944, but the museum was reopened in 1953 in the Hofgarten, which became a state museum in 1979, the current Deutsches Theatermuseum.
Her bust was installed in April 2000 in the Ruhmeshalle in Munich. It was completed by the academic sculptor Toni Preis, from Munich.[3]
