Barbara Valentin (born Ursula Ledersteger; 15 December 1940 – 22 February 2002)[1] was an Austrian actress. She worked in film, often with Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Barbara Valentin
Valentin, c. 1959
Born
Ursula Ledersteger

(1940-12-15)15 December 1940
Died22 February 2002(2002-02-22) (aged 61)
Other namesBarbara Valentine
OccupationActress
Years active1959–2001

Biography

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Valentin was born in 1940 as Ursula Ledersteger in Vienna, Austria (then part of Nazi Germany).[2][3] Her father was the Austrian art director Hans Ledersteger and her mother the actress Irmgard Alberti. She had a half-brother, Alfred Ledersteger. She was married to German film director Helmut Dietl.[2]

During the early to mid-1980s, Valentin was close friends with Freddie Mercury, who lived with her and her daughter in her Munich apartment for some time.[4][5] She is featured in the video for the Queen song It's a Hard Life.

During her career, Valentin was nicknamed "the German Jayne Mansfield".[6]

On 22 February 2002, Valentin died of a stroke in Munich at the age of 61.[6] She was buried in the Ostfriedhof in Munich.

Selected filmography

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Year Title Role Director Notes
1960 Horrors of Spider Island Babs Fritz Böttger horror film
1961 The Girl with the Narrow Hips [de] (German: Das Mädchen mit den schmalen Hüften) Beauty queen Johannes Kai
The Festival Girls Valentine Leigh Jason
There Is Still Room in Hell [de] (German: In der Hölle ist noch Platz) Janet Ernst R. von Theumer [de]
1965 Our Man in Jamaica Gloria Ernst R. von Theumer [de]
1966 Call Girls of Frankfurt [de] Sonja Rolf Olsen
1967 Carmen, Baby Dolores Radley Metzger
1968 Der Partyphotograph [de] Barbara Hans Dieter Bove
The Star Maker Hotel maid John Carr
1970 Love, Vampire Style [de] Rosi Helmut Förnbacher
1971 Furchtlose Flieger Blondie Veith von Fürstenberg, Martin Müller
1972 King, Queen, Knave Optician Jerzy Skolimowski
1973 World on a Wire (German: Welt am Draht) Gloria Fromm Rainer Werner Fassbinder[7] TV film
1974 Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (German: Angst essen Seele auf) Barbara Rainer Werner Fassbinder A film about an older German woman who enters an Arab bar where she meets and marries a younger man from Morocco.[3][8]
Martha Marianne Rainer Werner Fassbinder[9] TV film
Effi Briest Marietta Tripelli Rainer Werner Fassbinder
1975 Fox and His Friends (German: Faustrecht der Freiheit) Max's wife Rainer Werner Fassbinder
1976 Bomber & Paganini [de] Mona Nikos Perakis
An Isfahanian in the Land of Hitler [fa] Nosratollah Vahdat
1977 Women in Hospital Angelika's mother Rolf Thiele
1978 Flaming Hearts Karola Faber Walter Bockmayer, Rolf Bührmann
1980 Berlin Alexanderplatz Ida Rainer Werner Fassbinder 15½-hour television adaptation of Alfred Döblin's epic 1929 novel[10]
1981 Lili Marleen Eva Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Looping [de] Helma Walter Bockmayer, Rolf Bührmann
1984 Hell is in Heaven (German: Im Himmel ist die Hölle los) Erika Schrillmann Helmer von Lützelburg Satirical film
1987 The Second Victory Greta Mayer Gerald Thomas
2000 Fassbinder's Women Herself Rosa von Praunheim

References

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  1. ^ "Barbara Valentin, German actress". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Bret, David (2014). Freddie Mercury: An Intimate Biography. ISBN 9781291819434.
  3. ^ a b Reimer, Robert C.; Reimer, Carol J. (2010). The A to Z of German Cinema. Plymouth, U.K.: Scarecrow Press. p. 300. ISBN 9781461731863.
  4. ^ Bardola, Nicola (2021). Mercury in München: Seine besten Jahre [Mercury in Munich: His best years]. Heyne Verlag. ISBN 978-3641276539.
  5. ^ Sechs Jahre hat Freddie Mercury in München gelebt - eine Spurensuche [Freddie Mercury lived in Munich for six years - a search for clues] (in German). Bayerischer Rundfunk. 4 October 2021. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022.
  6. ^ a b Lentz III, Harris M. (2003). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2002: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 309. ISBN 0786414642 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Lim, Dennis (10 April 2010). "A Bold Vision, Still Ahead of Its Time". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Angst essen Seele auf". Festival de Cannes (in French). Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  9. ^ Holden, Stephen (1994). "FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW; Fassbinder on the Painfully Tight Bonds of Marriage". Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Screen: By Fassbinder, 'BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ'". The New York Times. 10 August 1983. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
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