Eva-Maria Hagen | |
|---|---|
 Hagen in 1981 | |
| Born | Eva-Maria Buchholz 19 October 1934 |
| Died | 16 August 2022 (aged 87) Hamburg, Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Actress and singer |
| Years active | 1957–2022 |
| Spouse | |
| Partners |
|
| Children | Nina Hagen |
| Relatives |
|
Eva-Maria Hagen (née Buchholz; German: [ˈeː.fa ma.ˈʁiː.a ˈhaːgŋ̩] ⓘ; 19 October 1934 – 16 August 2022) was a German actress and singer. She was known as the "Brigitte Bardot of the GDR" but was banned from performance for political reasons.
Hagen was born Eva-Maria Buchholz[2] in Költschen (present-day Poland) on 19 October 1934,[3] the daughter of farm workers from East Brandenburg.[4] In 1945, Költschen was occupied by the Soviet army and the family was expelled.[5] They moved to Perleberg, which became part of the GDR in 1949.[5]
In 1952, after completing an apprenticeship as a machinist, she was trained at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin.[6] She joined the Berliner Ensemble in 1953.[7] Hagen made her theater debut in 1953 in Erwin Strittmatter's play Katzgraben directed by Bertolt Brecht at the Berliner Ensemble.[8]
In 1957, she made her film debut in Kurt Maetzig's comedy Don't Forget My Little Traudel.[9] Her film career led to her being called the "Brigitte Bardot of the GDR".[10] From 1958, she acted at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin.[1] At the Landestheater Dessau, she had continued success as the flower girl Eliza in the musical My Fair Lady.[3]
In 1965, she met Wolf Biermann.[5] Despite becoming a successful film actress she was sidelined because of her relationship with Biermann.[11] He was a singer-songwriter whose politics kept him unemployed. In 1972, Biermann and Hagen separated.[5] In 1976, she publicly protested against Biermann's expatriation. She was dismissed without notice from the German television broadcaster Deutscher Fernsehfunk (DFF) in the GDR and banned from working.[12] In 1977, Hagen's citizenship in the GDR was revoked,[13] and she moved to West Germany the same year.[7]
She built up a second career as a chanson singer in addition to film and theater.[14] After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Hagen made films in Babelsberg again, appeared on stage as Medea or Mother Courage or sang Brecht songs.[3] She painted in oil and went on reading tours with her own books.[13]
In 1954 she married Hans Oliva-Hagen and they had a child named Catharina, singer and actress Nina Hagen.[15] She divorced him in 1959[16] over psychological issues.[17]
Hagen lived in Hamburg, Berlin and the Uckermark.[18] She is the grandmother of Cosma Shiva Hagen.[15]
Hagen died on 16 August 2022 in Hamburg, at the age of 87.[3][8]
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