One of the GDR’s most popular actresses, Eva-Maria Hagen, died on Tuesday August 16 at the age of 87.
The German actress and singer Eva-Maria Hagen, figure of the former GDR whom she had ended up leaving for political reasons, died Tuesday August 16 at the age of 87, announced Friday August 19 a door – word of the family. “Our adored Eva-Maria Hagen left the earthly world to join her eternal homeland on August 16, 2022”, The agent for his daughter, German punk icon Nina Hagen, told AFP.
Born in Kolczyn, Poland on October 19, 1934, Eva-Maria Hagen made her debut in 1953 in the play Katzgrabenwritten and directed by the playwright Bertolt Brecht at the prestigious Berliner Ensemble, later adapted for the cinema. In addition to the theatre, the one we often nicknamed “Brigitte Bardotof the GDR”, has appeared in more than 50 films. She becomes one of the most popular actresses in East Germany, especially after the success of the romantic comedy Vergesst mir meine Traudel nicht (Don’t forget my little Traudel), produced in 1957 by the state company DEFA, about a young war orphan who falls in love with a policeman.
Married for five years to author Hans Olivia-Hagen, she had a daughter, Nina, born in 1955, before her divorce, and subsequently became friends with the composer who was critical of the eastern regime. Wolf Bierman. When the GDR authorities stripped him of his East German nationality, Eva-Maria Hagen and her daughter also fell into disgrace and were banned from practicing their profession. The family left the GDR in 1977 to settle in West Berlin. Eva-Maria Hagen then embarked on a second career, mixing theater and now also singing, which she continued until after the fall of the Wall in reunited Germany in the early 1990s.
His daughter Nina, with extravagant and provocative stage appearances, has become one of the great figures of the German punk scene. His career mixes scandals, militancy, spirituality and esotericism. Nina Hagen’s daughter, Cosma Shiva Hagen, often appeared in public alongside her mother and grandmother, has also embarked on an acting career.