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Hannelore Elsner
Hannelore Elsner
	Elsner in 2011
Born	Hannelore Elstner; 26 July 1942; Burghausen, Bavaria, Germany
Died	21 April 2019 (aged 76); Munich, Germany
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1959–2019
Spouses	Gerd Vespermann (1964–1966); Alf Brustellin (1970s–1981); Uwe B. Carstensen (1993–2000);
Awards	Bavarian Film Awards; Deutscher Filmpreis;

Hannelore Elsner (German: [ˈhanəloːʁə ˈɛlsnɐ] ^ⓘ; born Hannelore Elstner; 26 July 1942 – 21 April 2019) was a German actress with a long career in television and film. She first performed on stage in Munich, and later starred in popular films and television series such as Die Schwarzwaldklinik (The Black Forest Clinic), and as the lead character, Inspector Lea Sommer, in the series Die Kommissarin. She was recognized internationally for her lead role in the 2000 film Die Unberührbare (No Place to Go), shown at the Cannes Film Festival.

Career

She was born Hannelore Elstner^[1] in Burghausen on 26 July 1942.^[2] Her five-year-old brother was killed in an air raid at the end of the Second World War. Her father died from tuberculosis when she was eight.^[3]

After finishing drama school in Munich,^[4] she was engaged at the Munich theatres Münchner Kammerspiele and Kleine Komödie am Max II [de].^[2] She was the first to appear nude on stage at the Kammerspiele.^[4]

Elsner appeared in her first film, Alt Heidelberg (Old Heidelberg), in 1959 at age 17.^[5] She was discovered for more serious acting by Edgar Reitz, who cast her alongside Elke Sommer for a lead role in the 1973 film Die Reise nach Wien (Trip to Vienna), her first role outside Germany.^[4] Later she starred in films and TV series such as Die Schwarzwaldklinik (The Black Forest Clinic). Elsner is remembered for the title role, Inspector Lea Sommer, in the German detective series Die Kommissarin which aired on public television in 66 episodes from 1994 to 2006. She was the first woman to play an inspector in a television series.^[2]

Elsner achieved international recognition for her lead role in the 2000 film Die Unberührbare (No Place to Go), which recounts the last days in the life of a writer, based closely on the life of Gisela Elsner, who died by suicide in 1992. The black-and-white film was written and filmed by Gisela Elsner's son, Oskar Roehler. It was a German entry for the Cannes Film Festival, and received three film awards.^[2] Elsner's last completed film was Cherry Blossoms and Demons [de] by Doris Dörrie; Dörrie said that Elsner was a great adventurer who threw herself into every role and her life with curiosity, dedication and bravery ("Für mich war Hannelore Elsner eine große Abenteuerin, die sich mit Neugier, Hingabe und Tapferkeit in jede Rolle und in ihr Leben gestürzt hat".)^[6]

Elsner also participated in audio plays and read audio books. She worked in an association exhorting people not to forget the Holocaust. She wrote her memoirs in 2011, titled Im Überschwang: Aus meinem Leben (In Exuberance: From My Life),^[4] which describe in detail how she grew up in Bavarian provincial surroundings and recount tragic episodes from her childhood.^[2]

Awards

For her title role in Die Unberührbare (No Place to Go), Elsner was awarded the Deutscher Filmpreis (German Film Award) in the category Best Actress, the Deutscher Kritikerpreis (German Critics' Prize) and the 2000 Bayrischer Filmpreis (Bavarian Film Award).^[6]^[7] In 2003, she won the Best Actress category for My Last Film [de], directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, at the German Film Awards.^[8] In 2005, she received the German Order of Merit for her campaign against AIDS.^[2] In 2006, she was awarded the Bavarian Film Award for her life's work.^[6]

Personal life and death

Elsner was married three times: to the actor Gerd Vespermann from 1964 to 1966, to the director Alf Brustellin from the 1970s until his death in 1981, and to Uwe B. Carstensen from 1993 until their divorce in 2000.^[6] In 1981, she had a son with the director Dieter Wedel.^[6]

She died of cancer in a clinic in Munich on 21 April 2019.^[9]^[10] Hanns-Georg Rodek, in an obituary for Die Welt, described her as "a national institution ... wild, seductive and independent" ("eine nationale Institution ... wild, verführerisch und unabhängig").^[4] The broadcaster BR changed their programming in her honour, to show films that she had appeared in as well as an interview.^[9]

Filmography

Films in which Elsner appeared include:^[1]

Old Heidelberg (1959), as Helene
Und sowas nennt sich Leben [de] (1961), as Ulla
The Girl with the Narrow Hips [de] (1961), as Yusha
Stahlnetz: Spur 211 [de] (1962, TV series episode), as Edith Tirfelder
The Endless Night [de] (1963), as Sylvia Stössi
An Alibi for Death (1963), as Hanne Wasneck
Glorious Times at the Spessart Inn (1967), as Johanna
Zur Hölle mit den Paukern (1968), as Geneviève Ponelle
Christoph Kolumbus oder Die Entdeckung Amerikas [de] (1969, TV film), as Anacoana
Student of the Bedroom (1970), as Brigitte
Gentlemen in White Vests (1970), as Susan
Willi Manages the Whole Thing (1971), as Constanze
The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (1972), as Irina
...aber Jonny! [fr] (1973), as Monika Winkler
Excerpts from the Life of a Good-For-Nothing [de] (1973), as The Countess
Trip to Vienna (1973), as Marga Kroeber
Challenge to White Fang (1974), as Jane LeClerq
Die schöne Marianne (1975, TV series, 13 episodes), as Marianne Ruaux
Berlinger [de] (1975), as Maria / Marlit
Grete Minde (1977), as Trude Minde
The Tailor from Ulm (1978), as Anna Berblinger
The Fall [de] (1979), as Alissa Kristlein
The Green Bird (1980), as Dr. Renate Winter
Who's Crazy, Doc? [de] (1982), as Dorothea von Schög
Solo Run (1983, TV film), as Zimra Steffin
Man Without Memory (1984), as Dr. Essner
A Kind of Anger (1984, TV film), as Adele Sanger
Mary Ward [de] (1985), as Mary Ward
Parker (1985), as Jillian Schelm
Kaminsky (1985), as Nicole Kaminsky
Operation Dead End [de] (1985), as Dr. Hoppe
Please, Let the Flowers Live [de] (1986), as Yvonne Duhamel
Lorentz & Söhne [it] (1988, TV series, 12 episodes), as Katharina Haltermann
The Black Forest Clinic (1987–1988, TV series, 6 episodes), as Maria Rotenburg
Noch ein Wunsch (1989, TV film), as Brigitte
The Eighth Day [de] (1990), as Mrs. De Vries
Death Came As a Friend (1991, TV film), as Judith
Long Conversation with a Bird [pl] (1992, TV film), as Polly
Cliffs of the Death (1993, TV film), as Rita Freymuth
Die Kommissarin (1994–2006, TV series, 66 episodes), as Lea Sommer
Blutige Spur (1995, TV film), as Maria Dennert
Butterfly Feelings (1996, TV film), as Marie-Luise Wendt
A Girl Called Rosemary (1996, TV film), as Marga Hartog
Andrea and Marie [de] (1998, TV film), as Andrea
Kai Rabe gegen die Vatikankiller (1998), as Hilde Strassburger
The Cry of the Butterfly (1999), as Susanne Thiess
No Place to Go (2000), as Hanna Flanders
Ende der Saison [de] (2001, TV film), as Waltraud
Beloved Sister [de] (2002, TV film), as Rita
My Last Film [de] (2002), as Marie
Eine Liebe in Afrika [de] (2003, TV film), as Denise
Der Seerosenteich [de] (2003, TV film), as Puppe Mandel
Red and Blue [de] (2003), as Barbara Bärenklau
Woman Driving, Man Sleeping [de] (2004), as Dr. Sue Süssmilch
Alles auf Zucker! (2004), as Marlene Zuckermann
The Rose Gardener [de] (2004, TV film), as Beatrice Shaye
Die Spielerin [de] (2005, TV film), as Polina Sieveking
You Told Me, You Love Me [de] (2006), as Johanna Perl
Not All Were Murderers [de] (2006, TV film), as Ludmilla Dimitrieff
Smoke Signs [de] (2006), as Annabella Silberstein
Vivere (2007), as Gerlinde von Habermann
The Visible and the Invisible [de] (2007), as Maria Döbereiner
War and Peace (2008, TV miniseries), as Countess Rostova
Cherry Blossoms (2008), as Trudi Angermeier
My Heart in Chile [de] (2008, TV film), as Laura Hansen
Zeiten ändern dich (2010), as Mother
Hanni & Nanni (2010), as Mrs. Theobald
The Last Patriarch [de] (2010, TV film), as Ruth Buchleitner
Keep Lying, Darling [de] (2010, TV film), as Martha Ebinghaus
Alles Liebe [de] (2010, TV film), as Irma Bergner
Promising the Moon [de] (2011), as Marga Baumanis
Don't You Believe It! [de] (2012), as Daisy
Jesus Loves Me [de] (2012), as Silvia
The Whole Shebang [de] (2014), as Ingrid
Tour de Force (2014), as Irene
Better Than Nothing [de] (2014), as Wally
To Life! [de] (2014), as Ruth Weintraub
Besondere Schwere der Schuld [de] (2014, TV film), as Agnes Barner
A Grand Farewell [de] (2015, TV film), as Ella
Family Party [de] (2015), as Renate
Hanna's Sleeping Dogs [de] (2016), as Ruth Eberth
Wunderlich's World [de] (2016), as Liliane Wunderlich
100 Things [de] (2018), as Renate Konaske
Cherry Blossoms and Demons [de] (2019), as Trudi Angermeier
Club der einsamen Herzen (2019, TV film), as Kiki
Lang lebe die Königin [de] (2020, TV film), as Rose Just (final film role)