Birgitta Tolksdorf
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Birgitta Anna Katharina Tolksdorf (December 9, 1947, Osnabrück, Lower Saxony – September 13, 2024, St. Louis, Missouri)[1] who changed her name to Gittanna Tolksdorf,[1][2] was a German-born American actress, best known in the United States for playing Arlene Lovett on the soap opera Love of Life from 1974 to 1980.
Tolksdorf was born in Osnabrück, Germany,[3][4][5] to Heinz Tolksdorf, a veterinarian, and his wife.[3] In 1952,[5] as a young child, she immigrated with her parents and five siblings[5][6] to the United States,[3][4] where they lived in Washington, Missouri.[3][7] After attending high school in Washington,[5][8] Tolksdorf studied music[3][4][7] and drama[8] at Fontbonne College, St. Louis,[3][4][7] and took part in the college choir and theatre productions.[3][9] She became a US citizen in 1963.[8]
Career
In 1974, Tolksdorf appeared in William Douglas Home's play The Secretary Bird[1] at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit, in the role of the secretary.[10][11] Later the same year, she was cast as Arlene Lovett in the soap opera Love of Life,[1][4][8] a role she continued to play until the series ended in early 1980.[12] She reportedly declined an offer to join The Young and the Restless in order to try out for theatre roles in New York.[13]
