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

Biography

Valentin was born as Ursula Ledersteger in Vienna, Austria. Her father was the Austrian art director Hans Ledersteger and her mother the actress Irmgard Alberti. She had a half brother Alfred Ledersteger.

During the early to mid '80s, Valentin was romantically involved with Freddie Mercury, and she is featured in the music video for the Queen song "It's a Hard Life".

Valentin was called "the German Jayne Mansfield" during her acting career. On 22 February 2002 Valentin died of a stroke in Munich. She was buried in the Ostfriedhof in Munich.

Selected filmography

• Horrors of Spider Island (1960, directed by Fritz Böttger)
• Das Mädchen mit den schmalen Hüften (1961, directed by Johannes Kai)
• The Festival Girls (1961, directed by Leigh Jason)
• In der Hölle ist noch Platz (1961, directed by Ernst R. von Theumer)
• Our Man in Jamaica (1965, directed by Ernst R. von Theumer)
• The Star Maker (1968, directed by John Carr)
• Furchtlose Flieger (1971, directed by Veith von Fürstenberg and Martin Müller)
• King, Queen, Knave (1972, directed by Jerzy Skolimowski)
• Welt am Draht (1973, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder) (TV film)
• Angst essen Seele auf (aka Ali: Fear Eats the Soul; 1974, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
• Martha (1974, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder) (TV film)
• Effi Briest (1974, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
• Faustrecht der Freiheit (aka Fox and His Friends; 1975, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
• Bomber & Paganini (1976, directed by Nikos Perakis)
• Women in Hospital (1977)
• Flaming Hearts (1978, directed by Walter Bockmayer, Rolf Bührmann)
• Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder) (TV miniseries)
• Lili Marleen (1981, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
• Looping (1981, directed by Walter Bockmayer, Rolf Bührmann)
• Im Himmel ist die Hölle los (1984, directed by Helmer von Lützelburg)
• The Second Victory (1987, directed by Gerald Thomas)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]