Ilse Paula Steppat was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 actress. Her husband was noted actor and director Max Nosseck

Max Nosseck

-Selected filmography:* Aventura oriental * Oranje Hein * Overture to Glory * Gambling Daughters * The Brighton Strangler * Black Beauty* Dillinger * And Who Is Kissing Me?...

.

She began her cinematic career at the age of 15 playing Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc

Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...

. Steppat appeared regularly on the German stage, and starred in more than forty movies. In the 1960s, she appeared frequently in crime movies based on the work of author Edgar Wallace

Films based on Edgar Wallace works

The Edgar Wallace movies are motion pictures based on the works of British novelist and playwright Edgar Wallace.Even though there are countless film adaptations of Edgar Wallace novels worldwide, the crime films produced by the German company Rialto Film between 1959 and 1972 are the best-known of...

, such as Die Gruft mit dem Rätselschloss, Der unheimliche Mönch and Die blaue Hand, which brought her great fame in Germany.

In her only English language role, Steppat played Blofeld's assistant and henchwoman Irma Bunt in the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the sixth spy film in the James Bond series, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. Following the decision of Sean Connery to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice, Eon Productions selected an unknown actor and model, George Lazenby...

. In the first English language conversation between Steppat and the movie's producer, Albert R. Broccoli

Albert R. Broccoli

Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...

, she confused the word verlobt (engaged) with engagiert. Despite this, however, she was awarded the role of Irma Bunt. Steppat was unable to capitalise on her new fame outside of Germany, as she died of a heart attack only four days after the movie's international release. She is buried in the Waldfriedhof Dahlem

Waldfriedhof Dahlem

The Waldfriedhof Dahlem is a cemetery in Berlin, in the district of Steglitz-Zehlendorf on the edge of the Grunewald forest at Hüttenweg 47. Densely planted with conifers and designed between 1931 and 1933 after the plans of Albert Brodersen, it is one of Berlin's more recent cemeteries...

 in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

.

Filmography

• 1969: On Her Majesty's Secret Service
  On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)
  On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the sixth spy film in the James Bond series, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. Following the decision of Sean Connery to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice, Eon Productions selected an unknown actor and model, George Lazenby...
  
  
• 1967: Die blaue Hand
• 1966: Karriere
• 1965: Der unheimliche Mönch (The Sinister Monk)
• 1964: Die Gruft mit dem Rätselschloß
• 1963: Der Unsichtbare
• 1960: Auf Engel schießt man nicht (You Don't Shoot at Angels)
• 1960: Im Namen einer Mutter
• 1960: Pension Schöller
• 1958: Madeleine Tel. 13 62 11
• 1958: Nachtschwester Ingeborg (Night Nurse Ingeborg)
• 1956: Winter in the Woods
  Winter in the Woods
  Winter in the Woods is a 1956 German drama film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner and starring Claus Holm.-Cast:* Claus Holm - Martin* Sabine Bethmann - Marianne* Rudolf Forster - Baron Malte* Helen Thimig - Baronin Henny* Willy A...
  
  
• 1955: Die Ratten
  Die Ratten
  Die Ratten is a 1955 West German drama film directed by Robert Siodmak. It is an adaptation of the play by Gerhart Hauptmann which transferred the story in the early fifties, shortly after the Second World War...