The 40 Best Austrian Actresses

1. Romy Schneider

Romy Schneider was born on 23 September 1938 in Vienna, Austria into a family of actors. Making her film debut at the age of 15, her breakthrough came two years later in the very popular trilogy Sissi (1955). Her mother, supervising her daughter's career, immediately approved Romy's participation ...

2. Ida Krottendorf

Actress | Die Möwe

Ida Krottendorf was born on April 5, 1927 in Ebreichsdorf, Austria. She was an actress, known for Die Möwe (1963), Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder - Eine Chronik aus dem Dreißigjährigen Krieg (1965) and Auf der grünen Wiese (1953). She was married to Klausjürgen Wussow and Ernst...

3. Ursula Strauss

Actress | Revanche

Ursula Strauss was born on April 25, 1974 in Melk, Lower Austria, Austria. She is an actress, known for Revanche (2008), Vielleicht in einem anderen Leben (2011) and Fast Forward (2009).

4. Maria Schell

Actress | Superman

Maria Schell studied in a religious institution in Colmar (Haut-Rhin, France). She received a dramatic training in Zurich, Switzerland. To pay her studies, she was a secretary there. Besides being a film star; Maria appeared in plays in Zurich, Basel, in Vienna (Josefstad Theater), Berlin, Munich (...

5. Nina Proll

Actress | Anna Fucking Molnar

Nina Proll was born on January 12, 1974 in Vienna, Austria. She is an actress and writer, known for Anna Fucking Molnar (2017), Nordrand (1999) and On the Other Side of the Bridge (2002). She has been married to Gregor Bloéb since July 5, 2008. They have two children.

6. Christiane Hörbiger

Actress | Julia - Eine ungewöhnliche Frau

Christiane Hörbiger descended from a famous dynasty of thespians, one of three siblings born to the Austrian acting couple Paula Wessely and Attila Hörbiger. She was also a niece of the equally renowned character actor Paul Hörbiger. Educated in Vienna, Christiane graduated from a commercial school...

7. Maria Hofstätter

Actress | Paradies: Glaube

Maria Hofstätter was born on March 30, 1964 in Linz, Austria. She is an actress, known for Paradise: Faith (2012), Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005) and Fox in a Hole (2020).

8. Ingrid Burkhard

Actress | Toni Erdmann

Ingrid Burkhard was born on June 7, 1931 in Vienna, Austria. She is an actress, known for Toni Erdmann (2016), The Eremites (2016) and Echte Wiener - Die Sackbauer-Saga (2008). She was previously married to Hannes Siegl.

9. Marianne Mendt

Actress | Parkplatz

Marianne Mendt was born on September 29, 1945 in Vienna, Austria. She is an actress and director, known for Parkplatz (1994), Feuerwerk (1976) and Kaisermühlen Blues (1992).

10. Adele Neuhauser

Actress | Vier Frauen und ein Todesfall

Adele Neuhauser was born on January 17, 1959 in Athens, Greece. She is an actress, known for Four Women and a Funeral (2005), Tatort (1970) and Brecht (2019). She was previously married to Zoltan Paul.

11. Maria Bill

Actress | Die Dreigroschenoper

Maria Bill was born on November 15, 1948 in Trogen, Switzerland. She is an actress, known for Die Dreigroschenoper (2004), Der Diener zweier Herren (1979) and Ainoa (2005). She is married to Michael Schottenberg. They have one child.

12. Erni Mangold

Actress | Before Sunrise

Goldmann was born into a family of artists. The father was a painter, whilst her mother, who was likely to become a successful concert pianist, resigned to her career in favour of her family. She had piano lessons from age 4-14.

After being trained at Helmut Kraus's Drama School, Erni Mangold ...

13. Ellen Umlauf

Director | Nabuli

Ellen Umlauf was born on August 17, 1925 in Vienna, Austria. She was an actress and director, known for Nabuli (1988), Isar 12 (1961) and Salome (1971). She was married to Albert Rueprecht. She died on February 19, 2000 in Rotorua, New Zealand.

14. Elfriede Ott

Actress | Die unabsichtliche Entführung der Frau Elfriede Ott

Elfriede Ott was born on June 11, 1925 in Vienna, Austria. She was an actress and writer, known for The Unintentional Kidnapping of Mrs. Elfriede Ott (2010), Herr im Haus bin ich (1970) and Was ihr wollt (1968). She was married to Hans Weigel and Ernst Waldbrunn. She died on June 12, 2019 in Vienna...

15. Marion Mitterhammer

Actress | Taktik

Born in Austria in 1965, Marion Mitterhammer was trained at the Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Graz. She set out her stage career at the Theatre in Baden-Baden and the Salzburg Festival; in Salzburg she worked with directors Jürgen Flimm und Thomas Langhoff. A tour production of ...

16. Monica Bleibtreu

Actress | Vier Minuten

Monica Bleibtreu was born on May 4, 1944 in Vienna, Austria. She was an actress and writer, known for Four Minutes (2006), Die Manns - Ein Jahrhundertroman (2001) and Run Lola Run (1998). She was married to Hans-Peter Korff. She died on May 13, 2009 in Hamburg, Germany.

17. Hedy Lamarr

Actress | Samson and Delilah

Hedy Lamarr, the woman many critics and fans alike regard as the most beautiful ever to appear in films, was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Vienna, Austria. She was the daughter of Gertrud (Lichtwitz), from Budapest, and Emil Kiesler, a banker from Lemberg (now known as Lviv). Her parents were ...

18. Elisabeth Orth

Actress | Yerma

Elisabeth Orth was born on February 8, 1936 in Vienna, Austria. She is an actress, known for Yerma (1965), Actis (1964) and Fast ein Poet (1968).

19. Birgit Minichmayr

Actress | Der Untergang

Birgit Minichmayr was born on April 3, 1977 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria. She is an actress, known for Downfall (2004), The White Ribbon (2009) and Everyone Else (2009).

20. Franziska Weisz

Actress | Hotel

Franziska Weisz was born on May 4, 1980 in Vienna, Austria. She is an actress, known for Hotel (2004), Mutig in die neuen Zeiten (2005) and Tage, die es nicht gab (2022). She has been married to Felix Herzogenrath since 2015.

21. Dagmar Koller

Actress | Die Csárdásfürstin

Born in Carinthia, Austria, in 1939, Dagmar Koller studied ballet from a very early age to correct a leg disorder. She won the state prize for dance from the Academy of Performing Arts in Vienna, and joined the chorus of the Vienna Folk Opera before her breakout role as Mi in "The Land of Smiles", ...

22. Paula Wessely

Actress | Episode

Paula Wessely was born on January 20, 1907 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. She was an actress and producer, known for Episode (1935), Masquerade in Vienna (1934) and Maria Theresia (1951). She was married to Attila Hörbiger. She died on May 11, 2000 in Vienna, Austria.

23. Nora Waldstätten

Actress | Personal Shopper

Nora began acting in television and film while she was a student at the Berlin Arts University, where she graduated in 2007. She won the Bunte Magazine "New Faces" award for best young German actress in 2009, and received the Max Ophüls Prize for "Most Promising Actress" in January 2010. Nora is a ...

24. Hilde Sochor

Actress | Stadtpark

Hilde Sochor was born on February 5, 1924 in Vienna, Austria. She was an actress, known for Stadtpark (1951), Tatort (1970) and Der Fünf-Minuten-Vater (1951). She was married to Gustav Manker. She died on May 31, 2017 in Vienna, Austria.

25. Senta Berger

Actress | Kir Royal

Senta Berger was born in 1941 in Vienna, Austria to her father Josef Berger who was a musician and her mother Therese Berger, a school teacher. Senta and her father performed together when she was just four years old. She sang and her dad played the piano. At five years old, she took ballet lessons...

26. Lotte Ledl

Actress | Heidi

Viennese character actress Lotte Ledl has been noted for her adversarial roles, excelling as waspish, petulant or vengeful wives, servants, neighbours or chatelaines. A dancer from the age of five, Ledl attended the Max- Reinhardt-Seminar in 1949, graduating two years later. She made her theatrical...

27. Brigitte Neumeister

Actress | Kaisermühlen Blues

Brigitte Neumeister was born on January 12, 1944 in Perchtoldsdorf, Vienna [now Lower Austria], Austria. She was an actress, known for Kaisermühlen Blues (1992), Herr im Haus bin ich (1970) and Tatort (1970). She was married to Felix Rotholz. She died on November 1, 2013 in Vienna, Austria.

28. Julia Stemberger

Actress | Mutig in die neuen Zeiten

Julia Stemberger was born on January 29, 1965 in Vienna, Austria. She is an actress, known for Mutig in die neuen Zeiten (2005), Swing Kids (1993) and Freier Fall (1997). She was previously married to Christian Altenburger.

29. Gusti Wolf

Actress | Der alte Richter

Gusti Wolf was born on April 11, 1912 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. She was an actress, known for Der alte Richter (1969), Die Austernlilli (1937) and Die Regimentstochter (1953). She died on May 5, 2007 in Vienna, Austria.

30. Andrea Händler

Actress | Polly Adler

Andrea Händler was born on May 14, 1964 in Vienna, Austria. She is an actress, known for Polly Adler (2008), Tatort (1970) and Die kranken Schwestern (1995).

31. Maria Köstlinger

Actress | Vorstadtweiber

Maria Köstlinger was born in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden. She is an actress, known for Vorstadtweiber (2015), Mutig in die neuen Zeiten (2005) and Der Verschwender (2000). She was previously married to Karlheinz Hackl.

32. Sophie Rois

Actress | Enemy at the Gates

Sophie Rois was born on 1 June 1961 in Ottensheim, Austria and studied acting at the Max-Reinhardt-Seminar in Vienna from 1982 to 1985. In the following years, she played at several theaters in Berlin, since 1992 she has been ensemble member at the city's Freie Volksbühne. Appearing also on ...

33. Aglaia Szyszkowitz

Actress | Die Wunderübung

Aglaia Szyszkowitz was born on January 11, 1968 in Graz, Austria. She is an actress, known for Die Wunderübung (2018), Der Todestunnel - Nur die Wahrheit zählt (2005) and Einsatz in Hamburg (2000). She has been married to Marcus Müller since 1992. They have two children.

34. Stefanie Dvorak

Actress | Kronprinz Rudolf

Stefanie Dvorak was born in 1979 in Graz, Austria. She is an actress, known for Kronprinz Rudolf (2006), Eine Couch für alle (2010) and 42plus (2007).

35. Barbara Wussow

Actress | Il mistero del lago

Barbara Wussow was born on March 28, 1961 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany. She is an actress, known for Il mistero del lago (2009), The Black Forest Hospital (1985) and Ariadna (1990). She has been married to Albert Fortell since May 26, 1990. They have two children.

36. Doris Schretzmayer

Actress | Gruber geht

Doris Schretzmayer was born on May 31, 1972 in Tulln an der Donau, Austria. She is an actress, known for Gruber Is Leaving (2015), What to Do in Case of Fire (2001) and Der letzte Zeuge (1998).

37. Sonja Kirchberger

Actress | Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn

At first she wanted to become a dancer. Sonja Kirchberger took classical ballet lessons for 10 years and was part of the ballet ensemble at the Vienna Opera from 1974 to 1978. Then Sonja Kirchberger left the spotlight and became a dental assistant. She also worked as a model. At the age of 21, she ...

38. Bibiane Zeller

Actress | Kottan ermittelt

Bibiane Zeller was born on February 25, 1928 in Vienna, Austria. She was an actress, known for Kottan ermittelt (1976), Die Spätzünder (2010) and Das Jahrhundert der Chirurgen (1972). She was married to Eugen Stark and Otto Anton Eder. She died on July 16, 2023 in Vienna, Austria.

39. Eva Billisich

Actress | Je Suis Auto

Eva Billisich was born on September 23, 1963. She is an actress and writer, known for Je Suis Auto, Mother's Day (1994) and Tatort (1970).

40. Beatrice Frey

Actress | Trautmann

Beatrice Frey was born on July 24, 1951 in Thun, Switzerland. She is an actress, known for Trautmann (2000), MA 2412 (1998) and Tohuwabohu (1990).