Early life

Berger is the daughter of musician Josef Berger and teacher Therese Jany. She first appeared on stage at the age of four, when her father accompanied her singing on the piano. At the age of five she started ballet lessons.

Berger also took private acting lessons. In 1957, she won her first small role in one of the final films directed by Austrian auteur Willi Forst. She applied for the Max Reinhardt Seminar, a famous acting school in Vienna, and was accepted, but she left shortly afterwards after accepting a film role without permission. In 1958, she became the youngest member of the Josefstadt Theatre in Vienna.

Career

Bernhard Wicki and Artur Brauner produced the film The Good Soldier Schweijk with Berger and the German actor Heinz Rühmann. Brauner used Berger in several films, but she soon tired of musicals. In 1962, she went to Hollywood and worked with stars such as Charlton Heston, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Richard Widmark, John Wayne, Jack Kelly, and Yul Brynner. She returned to Germany to accept an offer for a role in a series, which would have brought an obligation of several years.

In 1963, Berger met Michael Verhoeven, son of the German film director Paul Verhoeven (not to be confused with the Dutch Paul Verhoeven). They started their own film production company in 1965. In 1966, Senta and Michael married. In 1970, she starred for the first time in a film produced by her own company and directed by her husband. Other internationally successful films made by the duo included, amongst others, Die weiße Rose, The Nasty Girl (Das schreckliche Mädchen) and Mutters Courage. Berger continued to develop her European career in France and Italy. Also in 1966, the British film Our Man in Marrakesh, called Bang, Bang, You're Dead in the U.S., was released, starring Senta Berger opposite Tony Randall.

In November 1964, she guest starred in an episode of the U.S. television show, The Man from U.N.C.L.E, entitled "The Double Affair". It was later expanded and released in cinemas as the feature film The Spy with My Face (1965). In 1966, Berger co-starred with Kirk Douglas in the film Cast a Giant Shadow. Berger played the role of Magda, a soldier in the Israeli army during the Israeli War of Independence (1948). In The Quiller Memorandum, also released in 1966, she played opposite Max von Sydow and George Segal in the role of a German schoolteacher involved in neo-Nazi activity.

In 1967, Berger acted in the pilot film for the Robert Wagner television series It Takes a Thief, which aired on American television network ABC on 9 January 1968. She reprised her role in the series in October 1969, in an episode in which her character was killed off.

In 1977, she was head of the jury at the 27th Berlin International Film Festival. 21 years later, she was part of the jury at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.

In the 1970s, Photoplay Film Monthly said, "Approaching motherhood, Senta, the one-time militant feminist, has reverted to a docile feminine woman, just like the girl next-door." (Starlet, Kim Holston, 1988, McFarland).

Following the birth of her two sons (including the actor-director Simon Verhoeven), Berger returned to theatre work. She played at the Burgtheater in Vienna, at the Thaliatheater in Hamburg and at the Schillertheater in Berlin. Between 1974 and 1982, she played the “Buhlschaft” in the play Jedermann at the Salzburg Festival with Curd Jürgens and Maximilian Schell. She also acted alongside Schell and James Coburn in a supporting role in the acclaimed war film Cross of Iron (1977). In 1985-86, Berger started a comeback in front of German-speaking audiences in the TV serial Kir Royal. Further serial hits followed, like Die schnelle Gerdi (The Fast Gerti), where she played a taxi driver.

In the same year, she also started a career as a singer of chansons. 2005 saw her in the film, Einmal so wie ich will, as a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage who finds love on holiday, but turns her back on the relationship.

Since February 2003, Berger has been president of the German Film Academy, which seeks to advance the new generation of actors and actresses in Germany and Europe. The Academy will decide the assignment of the German Film Awards in the future.

Memoirs

In the spring of 2006, Berger's autobiography was published in Germany: Ich habe ja gewußt, daß ich fliegen kann ("I Knew That I Could Fly"). Among her memories of Hollywood are a less-than-subtle attempt by Darryl Zanuck to get her on his casting couch, and of all the shallow people she met in Hollywood.

Honours and awards

• Bambi Prize (1968)
• Bravo Otto in Bronze (1969)
• Film Award in Silver (production) for Die Weiße Rose on behalf of the film company Sentana (1983)
• German Actor Award (Chaplin-shoe) for her role in Kir Royal (1987)
• Bambi Prize, Special Bambi "Unknockable Stars" (1990)
• Golden Gong (1996)
• Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class (1999)
• Karl Valentin Orden (1998)
• Golden Romy as the most popular actress (1998)
• Bambi Prize in the category for the National Television ARD Vierteiler Love and Other Catastrophes (1999)
• Federal Cross of Merit (1999)
• Bavarian Order of Merit (2002)
• German Hörbuchpreis (2003)
• Medal Munich shines (for outstanding service to Munich) (2003)
• Hessian TV award as an ensemble member of the film The Conference (2005)
• Golden Ox - Honorary Award of the Film Arts Festival Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to the Sentana Film Production Senta Berger and Michael Verhoeven (2005)
• Billy Wilder Award (2006)
• Platinum Romy for lifetime achievement (2007)
• Special Prize of the German TV crime Award for her starring role in the WDR production Schlaflos ("Sleepless") (2009)
• Herbert-Strate Prize of the NRW Film Foundation and the Association HDF Kino Cinema (2009)
• German Television Award for Best Actress for her leading role in Schlaflos (2009)
• Special Prize at the Television Film Festival in Baden-Baden for outstanding dramatic performance in Frau Böhm sagt Nein (2009)
• Golden Camera Award in the category Best Actress in German Frau Böhm sagt Nein and Schlaflos (2010)
• Adolf Grimme Award for her performance in Frau Böhm sagt Nein (2010)
• Bavarian Television Award for best actress says in the "TV Movie" for her role in the film Frau Böhm sagt Nein (2010)
• Grand Diagonale drama prize for lifetime achievement (2010)
• Star on the Boulevard of Stars in Berlin (2010)
• Hans Abich Award for outstanding services in television and film (Television Film Festival, Baden-Baden, 2010)
• Cultural Award of the City of Munich (2011)
• Bear (B.Z. culture prize) (2012)

Selected filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Director	Notes
1959	The Journey	Serving Girl in Black Scarf	Anatole Litvak
1960	The Good Soldier Schweik	Gretl	Axel von Ambesser
1961	The Secret Ways	Elsa	Phil Karlson
1961	The Miracle of Father Malachia	Yvonne Krüger	Bernhard Wicki
1961	Es muß nicht immer Kaviar sein (de)	Chantal	Géza von Radványi	Two films (Part 2)
1961	Das Geheimnis der schwarzen Koffer (de)	Susan Brown	Werner Klingler
1962	Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (de)	Nelly	Werner Klingler
1962	Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace	Mrs. Ellen Blackmore	Terence Fisher
1963	The Victors	Trudi	Carl Foreman
1963	Kali Yug: Goddess of Vengeance	Catherine Talbot	Mario Camerini	Two films
1963	Jack und Jenny (de)	Jenny	Victor Vicas
1964	The Spy with My Face	Serena	John Newland	The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1964	See How They Run	Orlando Miller	David Lowell Rich	TV movie
1965	Major Dundee	Teresa Santiago	Sam Peckinpah
1965	The Glory Guys	Lou Woddard	Arnold Laven
1966	Cast a Giant Shadow	Magda Simon	Melville Shavelson
1966	Our Man in Marrakesh	Kyra Stanovy	Don Sharp
1966	The Poppy Is Also a Flower	Dancer	Terence Young
1966	Lange Beine - lange Finger (de)	Doris Holberg	Alfred Vohrer
1966	The Quiller Memorandum	Inge Lindt	Michael Anderson
1966	The Treasure of San Gennaro	Maggie	Dino Risi
1967	To Commit a Murder	Gertraud Sphax	Édouard Molinaro
1967	The Ambushers	Francesca Madeiros	Henry Levin	Matt Helm
1967	Diabolically Yours	Christiane	Julien Duvivier
1969	If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium	London Saleswoman	Mel Stuart	Cameo
1969	Les Étrangers (fr)	May	Jean-Pierre Desagnat (fr)
1969	De Sade	Anne de Montreuil	Cy Endfield
1969	Giacomo Casanova: Childhood and Adolescence	Giulietta Cavamacchia	Luigi Comencini
1970	Cuori solitari (it)	Giovanna	Franco Giraldi
1970	When Women Had Tails	Filli	Pasquale Festa Campanile
1971	He Who Loves in a Glass House	Hanna	Michael Verhoeven
1971	Le Saut de l'ange (fr)	Sylvaine Orsini	Yves Boisset
1971	Roma Bene	Princess Dedé Marescalli	Carlo Lizzani
1971	Lover of the Great Bear	Fela	Valentino Orsini
1972	Die Moral der Ruth Halbfass (de)	Ruth Halbfass	Volker Schlöndorff
1973	Reigen (de)	The wife	Otto Schenk
1973	The Scarlet Letter	Hester Prynne	Wim Wenders
1973	Hospitals: The White Mafia	Suor Maria	Luigi Zampa
1973	Amore e ginnastica	Maria Pedani	Luigi Filippo D'Amico
1974	Puzzle	Sara Grimaldi	Duccio Tessari
1974	La bellissima estate	Manuela	Sergio Martino
1976	MitGift (de)	Alice Burgmann	Michael Verhoeven
1976	The Swiss Conspiracy	Denise Abbott	Jack Arnold
1976	Goodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen	Signora Palese		Anthology film
1977	Das Chinesische Wunder	Detta Gaspardi	Wolfgang Liebeneiner
1977	Cross of Iron	Eva	Sam Peckinpah
1978	Ritratto di borghesia in nero	Carla Richter	Tonino Cervi
1985	Fatto su misura	Signora Schwartz	Francesco Laudadio
1985	The Two Lives of Mattia Pascal	Clara	Mario Monicelli
1986	Killing Cars (de)	Marie Landauer	Michael Verhoeven
1990	Tre colonne in cronaca	Countess Odessa Bonaveri	Carlo Vanzina
1998	Bin ich schön? (de)	Unna	Doris Dörrie
2009	Ob ihr wollt oder nicht!	Dorothea	Ben Verbong
2010	Satte Farben vor Schwarz (de)	Anita	Sophie Heldman (de)
2012	Zettl (de)	Mona Mödlinger	Helmut Dietl
2012	Ruhm (de)	Rosalie	Isabel Kleefeld (de)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color : The Waltz King (de)	Henriette Treffz
1964	The Man From U.N.C.L.E. : The Double Affair	Serena	(TV series, 1 episode)
1968	It Takes a Thief : A Thief Is a Thief	Claire Vickers	(TV series, 1 episode)
1968	Istanbul Express	Mila Darvos
1968	Babeck (de)	Susanne Stefan	(TV miniseries, 3 episodes)
1969	It Takes a Thief : Flowers from Alexander	Claire Vickers/Laurie James	(TV series, 1 episode)
1986	Kir Royal - Aus dem Leben eines Klatschreporters	Mona	(TV series, 6 episodes)
1989	Die schnelle Gerdi	Gerdi	(TV series, 6 episodes)
1990	La belle Anglaise		(TV series, 1 episode)
1992	Sie und Er	Charlotte
1992	Lilli Lottofee	Lilli	(TV series, 6 episodes)
1994	Gefangene Liebe
1994-1996	Ärzte : Dr. Schwarz und Dr. Martin	Dr. Margarethe Martin	(TV series, 8 episodes)
1995	Die Nacht der Nächte	Teresa
1995	Kommissar Rex	Karla Wilke	(TV series, 1 episode)
1996	Mein Sohn ist kein Mörder!	Sarah Renzi
1997	Kap der Rache	Lilian
1997	Lamorte (de)	Susa
1997	Bella Ciao	Teresa
1998	Mammamia	Clara
1999	Liebe und weitere Katastrophen	Franziska Ackermann	(TV miniseries, 4 episodes)
1999	Rosamunde Pilcher: Nancherrow	Alex Gower
1999	Mit fünfzig küssen Männer anders (de)	Marie Mechlenburg
2000	Zimmer mit Frühstück	Elisabeth
2000	Trennungsfieber	Dr. Carla Severin-Bauer
2000	Scharf aufs Leben (de)	Solveigh Kronberg
2000	Probieren Sie's mit einem Jüngeren	Anna
2002-2014	Unter Verdacht	Dr. Eva-Maria Prohacek	(TV series, 22 episodes)
2002	Bis dass dein Tod uns scheidet	Edith Mosbach
2004	Die schnelle Gerdi und die Hauptstadt	Gerdi	(TV series, 6 episodes)
2004	Die Konferenz (de)	Cornelia Cordes
2005	Einmal so wie ich will (de)	Emma Bauer
2005	Emilia - Die zweite Chance	Dr. Emilia Seiler
2005	Emilia - Familienbande	Dr. Emilia Seiler
2006	Nette Nachbarn küsst man nicht (de)	Helga Forstmann
2008	Rosamunde Pilcher: Four Seasons	Julia Combe	(TV miniseries, 4 episodes)
2009	Schlaflos (de)	Carla Sagmeister
2009	Frau Böhm sagt Nein (de)	Rita Böhm
2009	Mama kommt! (de)	Luise Fischer
2010	Liebe am Fjord: Das Ende der Eiszeit	Pernille	(TV series, 1 episode)
2011	In den besten Jahren (de)	Erika Welves
2012	Operation Zucker (de)	Dorothee Lessing	(TV thriller)
2012	Hochzeiten (de)	Klara
2013	Und alle haben geschwiegen (de)	Luisa Hamilton	(TV drama)
2013	Willkommen auf dem Land (de)	Rita

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[ Source: Wikipedia ]