Hanna
Schygulla was born in Katowice (then Kattowitz) in 1943 and moved to Munich
with her mother in 1945. In 1964, she returned to Munich to study language
and literature. In 1967 and 1968 she also studied acting and came to the ´Action
Theater´ in 1967 because of Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
In 1968, Hanna Schygulla, Peer Raben and Fassbinder with others founded the ´Antitheater´
in Munich. After small roles in films for directors such as Jean-Marie Straub
and Peter Fleischman, Hanna Schygulla starred in the ´Deutscher Filmpreis´
winning film "Love is Colder Than Death", which was her first film
for Fassbinder. During the following years she appeared in all his films and
many of his stage productions. After their first box-office success with "Effi
Briest" in 1974, there was a break in their collaboration. Until 1977
Hanna Schygulla worked with other directors and won the ´Deutscher Filmpreis´
for her performance in Wim Wenders' "Wrong Move". In 1978 she started
working with Fassbinder again with the post-war drama "The Marriage
of Maria Braun" (1979 ´Deutscher Filmpreis´ and ´Silver
Bear´ at the ´Berlin Film Festival´) which won international
acclaim, as did "Lili Marleen" (1980).
She continued her theatre career with two tours in 1976 and 1980 and an engagement
with the ´Munich Kammerspiele´ from 1979. She has also appeared
sporadically in international productions. In 1983 Hanna Schygulla played
in film "Sheer Madness", directed by Margarethe von Trotta and won
the ´Best Actress´ award at the ´Cannes Film Festival´
for her role in Marco Ferreri's "La Storia di Pierra".
1990 marked her return to German cinema with Jörg Graser's "Abraham's
Gold", which was entered in the ´Cannes Film Festival´.
The year 1997 marks the beginning of creation of several programms
for the stage mostly co-operating with musicians as "Whatever the Dream"
... (Music: Jean-Marie Senia), in 1999 "Kronos-Kairos" (Music: Markus
& Simon Stockhausen, Manos Tsangaris), in 2000 "Here and Now"
by Berthold Brecht (Music: Hanns Eisler and Kurt Weill) and
"Elle ... Louise Brooks" (Music: Roberto Tricarri).
In the European co-production TAKING SIDES she plays the part of Mrs. Straube,
the mother of Emmi Straube.
