Iris Berben, who was born in 1950 in Detmold and grew up in Hamburg, is one of the most famous
and successful actresses in the German film and TV industry. Since her acting debut in 1968 she has
appeared in numerous film and television productions, including “Zwei himmlische Töchter” (1978),
“Sketchup” (1984-1986), “Das Erbe der Guldenburgs” (1986-1990), the “Rosa Roth” series (1994-
2013), “Ein mörderischer Plan” (2000), “Afrika, mon amour” (2007) and “Krupp – A Family Between
War and Peace” (2009). Iris Berben was nominated for an Emmy in 2010 for her role of Bertha Krupp.
She has most recently appeared in films such as “Traumfrauen” (2015), “Eddie the Eagle” (2016) and
“High Society” (2017) and TV productions such as “Der Wagner-Clan. Eine Familiengeschichte”
(2014), “Das Zeugenhaus” (2014) and “Familie!” (2016). Future projects include “Die Protokollantin”
(2018), “Hanne” (2018) and Sönke Wortmann’s comedy movie “Der Vorname” (2018).
Iris Berben has won many awards for her performances, such as several Adolf Grimme Awards and
Golden Cameras and the Bambi, Romy and Bavarian Television Award in the Lifetime Achievement
category. She also was President of the German Film Academy from 2010 till 2019 and in this
position she represented the interests of the more than 1800 creative members of the film industry.
In addition to her acting activities, Iris Berben has always been involved in publicly standing up for
tolerance and humanity and against forgetting, against anti-Semitism. Among others she received
the Federal Order of Merit, First Class, and received the Leo Baeck Award from the Central Council of
Jews in Germany. In 2013 she was honoured with the Understanding and Tolerance Award by the
Jewish Museum in Berlin.