Martina Gedeck ɡəˈdɛk is 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. She came to broader, international attention due to her roles in films such as Mostly Martha

Mostly Martha (film)

Bella Martha is a 2001 German romantic comedy drama film directed by Sandra Nettelbeck. The American movie No Reservations is heavily based on this. It is about a skilled chef in Hamburg, Germany. When her sister dies, she is left taking care of her niece, who gives her problems...

, The Lives of Others

The Lives of Others

The Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police...

, and The Baader Meinhof Complex. She has won numerous awards, including the Deutscher Filmpreis

Deutscher Filmpreis

The Deutscher Filmpreis is the highest German movie award. From 1951 to 2004 it was awarded by a commission, since 2005 the award has been given by the Deutsche Filmakademie...

, which she won in 1997 for her supporting role in Life Is All You Get and in 2002, for her lead role in Mostly Martha.

Career

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...

 cast her opposite Matt Damon

Matt Damon

Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...

 and John Turturro

John Turturro

John Michael Turturro is an American actor, writer and director known for his roles in the films Do the Right Thing , Miller's Crossing , Barton Fink , Quiz Show , The Big Lebowski , O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Transformers film series...

 in The Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd (film)

The Good Shepherd is a 2006 spy film directed by Robert De Niro and starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, with an extensive supporting cast. Although it is a fictional film loosely based on real events, it is advertised as telling the untold story of the birth of counter-intelligence in the...

in 2006. In 2007, she played the lead female role in The Lives of Others

The Lives of Others

The Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police...

, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...

. In 2009, she played the title role of Ulrike Meinhof

Ulrike Meinhof

Ulrike Marie Meinhof was a German left-wing militant. She co-founded the Red Army Faction in 1970 after having previously worked as a journalist for the monthly left-wing magazine Konkret. She was arrested in 1972, and eventually charged with numerous murders and the formation of a criminal...

 in Germany's Academy Award-nominated The Baader Meinhof Complex.

Personal life

Martina Gedeck was born in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, "growing up in Bavaria and then Berlin" as the oldest of three girls; after studying history at the University of Berlin, in 1981 she nervously announced to her father plans to become an actress instead of the academic career he had expected her to follow at the time.

As of 2008, Gedeck resides in the Dahlem district

Dahlem (Berlin)

Dahlem is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf. Dahlem is one of the most affluent parts of the city and home to the main campus of the Free University of Berlin with the...

 of 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...

 with her partner, Swiss director Markus Imboden. In 2010, Gedeck, affiliated with the Green Party, served as an elector in the assembly to elect the new president of Germany

President of Germany

The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...

.

Awards

European Film Award

• 2002 Best Actress, Mostly Martha
  Mostly Martha (film)
  Bella Martha is a 2001 German romantic comedy drama film directed by Sandra Nettelbeck. The American movie No Reservations is heavily based on this. It is about a skilled chef in Hamburg, Germany. When her sister dies, she is left taking care of her niece, who gives her problems...
  
  , Nominated
• 2006 Best Actress, The Lives of Others
  The Lives of Others
  The Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police...
  
  , Nominated

Berlin Film Festival, Silver Bear

• 2007 Best Cast, The Good Shepherd
  The Good Shepherd (film)
  The Good Shepherd is a 2006 spy film directed by Robert De Niro and starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, with an extensive supporting cast. Although it is a fictional film loosely based on real events, it is advertised as telling the untold story of the birth of counter-intelligence in the...
  
  , Won

German Film Award

• 1997 Best Supporting Actress, Rossini and Life is all you get, Won
• 2002 Best Actress, Mostly Martha
  Mostly Martha (film)
  Bella Martha is a 2001 German romantic comedy drama film directed by Sandra Nettelbeck. The American movie No Reservations is heavily based on this. It is about a skilled chef in Hamburg, Germany. When her sister dies, she is left taking care of her niece, who gives her problems...
  
  , Won
• 2006 Best Actress, The Elementary Particles, Nominated

Adolf-Grimme-Award, Germany

• 1995 Best Cast, Just an affair, Won
• 1998 Best Actress, The Nephew, Bella Block, Won
• 2002 Best Actress, Romeo, Won
• 2004 Best Actress, Back to Life, Nominated

Bavarian Film Award

• 1999 Best Actress, The Green Desert, Won
• 2007 Best Actress, Messy Christmas, Won

Bavarian TV Award

• 1995 Best Actress, Hölleisengretl, Won
• 2000 Best Actress, Best Years, Won

Golden Lion Award, Germany

• 1997 Best Actress, The Nephew, Nominated
• 1998 Best Supporting Actress, Bella Block, Won

German Film Critics Association Award

• 2002 Best Actress, Mostly Martha
  Mostly Martha (film)
  Bella Martha is a 2001 German romantic comedy drama film directed by Sandra Nettelbeck. The American movie No Reservations is heavily based on this. It is about a skilled chef in Hamburg, Germany. When her sister dies, she is left taking care of her niece, who gives her problems...
  
  , Won

German Television Award

• 2004 Best Actress, Hungry for Life, Won

Golden Camera, Germany

• 2003 Best Actress, Lost Country, The Mother, Won

Jupiter Award

• 2007 Best Actress, The Elementary Particles, Won

Baden-Baden TV Film Festival

• 2001 Best Cast, Romeo, Won

TeleStar, Germany

• 1997 Best Actress, The Nephew, Won

Mons International Festival of Love Films, Belgium

• 2002 Best Actress, Mostly Martha, Won

International Filmfestival Kaluga, Russia

• 2006 Best Actress, Mostly Martha, Won

Nastro d’Argento Europeo, Taormina Film Fest Italy

• 2007 Best Actress, The Lives of Others
  The Lives of Others
  The Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police...
  
  , Won

Premio Bacco, Notte delle Stelle, Italy

• 2006 Best Actress, Mostly Martha, Won

BZ Culture Award, Germany

• 2008 Film, Outstanding artistic contribution, Won

Diva Award, Germany

• 2006 Hall of Fame, Outstanding artistic contribution, Won

Filmography

Television

• Goldjunge (1988)
• Die Beute (1988), Nelly
• Schulz & Schulz
  Schulz & Schulz
  Schulz & Schulz is a TV series consisting of five feature-length films starring Götz George in a dual role as twin brothers Wolfgang and Walter Schulz who during WII were separated and then raised in different parts of Germany. The first film was broadcast while the German Democratic Republic still...
  
  (1989–1993), Britta – TV series, 5 episodes
• Hausmänner (1991), Helen
• Mutter und Söhne (1992), Susanne Stoller
• Leo und Charlotte (1993), Sylvie
• Krücke (1993), Bronka
• Das Schwein - Eine deutsche Karriere (1995) , Wanda
• Hölleisengretl (1995), Hölleisenretl
• Der Schönste Tag im Leben (1996), Waltraut
• Lea Katz - Die Kriminalpsychologin: Einer von uns (1997), Lea Katz
• Lea Katz - Die Kriminalpsychologin: Das wilde Kind (1997), Lea Katz
• Der Neffe (1997) , Isabella
• Bella Block (1997), Frau Meng – TV series, episode "Tod eines Mädchens"
• Der Laden (1998) TV , Elvira
• Single Bells (1998), Kati Treichl
• Die beste Party - Heimatabend 1999 (1999)
• Ich habe nein gesagt (1999), Doris Wengler
• Deine besten Jahre (1999), Vera Kemp
• Happy Hour oder Glück und Glas (2000), Greta Steinwender
• O Palmenbaum (2000), Kati Treichl
• Romeo (2001), Lotte Zimmermann
• Scheidung auf amerikanisch (2001), Sarah
• Jenseits der Liebe (2001), Helen Dubbs
• Die Mutter (2002), Vera Zardiss
• Verlorenes Land (2002), Maria
• 1809 Andreas Hofer (2002), Lebzelter-Mariandl
• Geheime Geschichten (2003)
• Unsre Mutter ist halt anders (2003), Paula
• Schattenlinie (2003), Clara Lorenz
• Das Blaue Wunder (2004), Thea Eiselt
• Hunger auf Leben (2004), Brigitte Reimann
• Feuer in der Nacht (2004), Paola Winkler
• Der Stich des Skorpion (2004), Anne Stein
• Giacomo Casanova (2004), Madame De Roll
• Spiele der Macht - 11011 Berlin (2005), Prof. Sara M. Kardow
• Auf ewig und einen Tag (2006), Paula Schmitt
• Verlassen (2007), Claudia
• Sisi (2009), Erzherzogin Sophie von Habsburg

Cinema

• Tiger, Löwe, Panther (1989), Nicoletta/Löwe
• Hard Days, Hard Nights (1989), Goldi
• Maybe... Maybe Not (1994), Jutta
• How I've Got Rhythm (1995), Susanne – Short movie
• Harald (1997), Rica Reichmann
• Rossini (1997), Serafina
• Life Is All You Get (1997), Lilo
• Women Don't Lie (1998), Hannah
• Mrs. Rettich, Czerni and I (1998), Czerni
• Jew-Boy Levi (1999), Fräulein Neuner
• It's All Bob ! (1999), Barbara
• The Green Desert (1999), Doris
• Mostly Martha
  Mostly Martha (film)
  Bella Martha is a 2001 German romantic comedy drama film directed by Sandra Nettelbeck. The American movie No Reservations is heavily based on this. It is about a skilled chef in Hamburg, Germany. When her sister dies, she is left taking care of her niece, who gives her problems...
  
  (2001), Martha Klein
• The Elementary Particles (2006), Christiane – English language title is Atomised
• The Lives of Others
  The Lives of Others
  The Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police...
  
  (2006), Christa-Maria Sieland
• The Perfect Friend (2006), Marlène
• Summer '04 (2006), Miriam Franz
• The Good Shepherd
  The Good Shepherd (film)
  The Good Shepherd is a 2006 spy film directed by Robert De Niro and starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, with an extensive supporting cast. Although it is a fictional film loosely based on real events, it is advertised as telling the untold story of the birth of counter-intelligence in the...
  
  (2006), Hanna Schiller
• Messy Christmas (2007), Sara
• Beloved Clara (2008), Clara Schumann
• The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008), Ulrike Meinhof
• Agnosía
  Agnosía (film)
  Agnosía is a Spanish baroque retro-futuristic thriller directed by Eugenio Mira and written by Antonio Trashorras.-Plot:The protagonist is a young woman, Joana Prats suffering from agnosia, a strange, primary visual disease that is one of the neuropsychological disorders of perception...
  
  (2010)
• Jew Suss: Rise and Fall
  Jew Suss: Rise and Fall
  Jew Suss: Rise and Fall is a 2010 German drama film directed by Oskar Roehler, picturizing the creation process of the 1940 antisemitic Nazi propaganda movie Jud Süß. It was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival....
  
  (2010)

External links

• Official website of Martina Gedeck