Biography

Senta Berger was born in 1941 in Vienna, Austria to her father Josef Berger who was a musician and her mother Therese Berger, a school teacher. Senta and her father performed together when she was just four years old. She sang and her dad played the piano. At five years old, she took ballet lessons and at 14, Berger turned to acting taking private lessons. She left her private school education at 16. In 1957, Berger was discovered by famous director Willi Forst and played a small role in a film. She was accepted to the Max Reinhardt Seminar. In 1958, Berger was the youngest member at the Vienna Theater in Josefstadt. Director Bernhard Wicki and producer Artur Brauner sought after Senta producing the film The Good Soldier, by Heinz Rühmann. It succeeded and Brauner used her in several films. In 1962, Berger moved to Hollywood and starred with Charlton Heston, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Richard Harris, George Hamilton, Kirk Douglas, John Wayne and Yul Brynner. In 1969 she returned to Europe and was seen during the 1970's in Italian productions of various genres. In 1967, she returned to the silver screen with an Alain Delon film. In 1968, Berger played in the three-part thriller Babeck by Herbert Reinecker. 1970 was her debut as Producer of her own company. As director she put her husband's film before the camera. Further, international successful of films of her production company have included The White Rose, The Nasty Girl and Mother Courage. In addition, Berger expanded her European career in France and Italy. The birth of her two sons, Simon (b. 1972) and Luca (b. 1979) prompted Berger to turn back to the theater. In 1985/86, she managed her TV comeback in front of the German-speaking audience in the television series Kir Royal co-starring with Franz Xaver Kroetz , Dieter Hildebrandt and Billie Zöckler. Many TV series guest appearances followed.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Geoff Bridgedale

Senta Berger grew up with her parents in Vienna, where she also attended school. She was encouraged musically by her father at an early age and received piano and ballet lessons. While she was still at school she was trained at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna and from 1958 she was contracted to the Vienna Theater. Senta Berger was able to attract attention early on in numerous performances that received first-class reviews. She not only played in Vienna, but also took part in several performances in Salzburg and Berlin. She made her film debut in 1957 in the film "The Unexcused Hour". Senta Berger achieved her breakthrough with the film adaptation of Johannes Mario Simmel's novel "It doesn't always have to be caviar". She came to international fame in 1962 with the Walt Disney production "Love in 3/4 Time" and the classic "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse" alongside Gert Fröbe.

After this success, numerous other US productions were made. She was signed by Columbia Pictures; "Major Dundee" was filmed in 1964 and the film "Marquis de Sade" was filmed in 1968. In 1965 she received the "Golden Globe Award" and in 1968 the "Bambi". In Hollywood, Senta Berger became a global star and filmed alongside famous colleagues such as Kirk Douglas, John Wayne, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Sir Alec Guinness. In 1965 Berger founded Senta Film Production. In 1966 she married the actor, film director and doctor Dr. Michael Verhoeven. Some German and European works also followed, such as in 1970 with the Italian director Lina Wertmüller, where she starred in the comedy entitled "Quando le donne avevano la coda", in German "When the women still had cocks". . Some of these works were produced by Senta film production. Her husband also directed some works.

The two children Simon Vincent and Luca Paul were born in 1972 and 1979. Between 1974 and 1982 she was the "Buhlschaft" in "Everyman" at the Salzburg Festival alongside Curd Jürgens and Maximilian Schell. In 1983 she received the "Silver Film Ribbon". Senta Berger's productions included "The White Rose" in 1982 and "The Terrible Girl" in 1989. Since then she has often appeared in several successful German television films. The best-known TV productions include multi-part series such as "Kir Royal" from 1985/86 or "Lilli Lottofee" as well as the ARD film adaptation "Dr. Schwarz and Dr. Martin". In 1998 Berger was awarded the "Karl Valentin Prize" and the "Romy". In 1999 she was honored with the Federal Cross of Merit. The comedic television films "Scharf aufs Leben" and "Until your death do us part" were made in 2000 and 2001.

In 2002 she made the TV film "Under Suspicion - Hidden Game" for ZDF, for which she was awarded the Adolf Grimme Prize (2003). This was followed in 2003 by "Under Suspicion - A Country Outing" directed by Friedemann Fromm. For her achievements she received the Bavarian Order of Merit in 2002. In addition to her work as a film actress, she can often be seen at the theater and at enthusiastic readings of literary works. She summarized her life in her memoirs, which she published in March 2006 under the title "I always knew that I could fly." From 2003 to 2010, Berger was the first female president of the German Film Academy alongside Günter Rohrbach. She celebrated a major cinema success in 2016 with the family comedy about the refugee crisis, "Welcome to the Hartmanns"; Here she worked for the first time with her older son, Simon Verhoeven.

In 2021 she received the German Film Peace Prize - The Bridge as an honorary award and the German Film Prize - Honorary Prize. In 2023, the film "Do You Know" followed with her in the lead role, which premiered at the Munich Film Festival in Munich.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth