Eva-Maria Hagen

Hagen was born Eva-Maria Buchholz^[2] in Költschen (present-day Poland) on 19 October 1934,^[3] the daughter of farm workers from East Brandenburg.^[4] In 1945, Költschen was occupied by the Soviet army and the family was expelled.^[5] They moved to Perleberg, which became part of the GDR in 1949.^[5]

In 1952, after completing an apprenticeship as a machinist, she was trained at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin.^[6] She joined the Berliner Ensemble in 1953.^[7] Hagen made her theater debut in 1953 in Erwin Strittmatter's play Katzgraben directed by Bertolt Brecht at the Berliner Ensemble.^[8]

In 1957, she made her film debut in Kurt Maetzig's comedy Don't Forget My Little Traudel.^[9] Her film career led to her being called the "Brigitte Bardot of the GDR".^[10] From 1958, she acted at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin.^[1] At the Landestheater Dessau, she had continued success as the flower girl Eliza in the musical My Fair Lady.^[3]

In 1965, she met Wolf Biermann.^[5] Despite becoming a successful film actress she was sidelined because of her relationship with Biermann.^[11] He was a singer-songwriter whose politics kept him unemployed. In 1972, Biermann and Hagen separated.^[5] In 1976, she publicly protested against Biermann's expatriation. She was dismissed without notice from the German television broadcaster Deutscher Fernsehfunk (DFF) in the GDR and banned from working.^[12] In 1977, Hagen's citizenship in the GDR was revoked,^[13] and she moved to West Germany the same year.^[7]

She built up a second career as a chanson singer in addition to film and theater.^[14] After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Hagen made films in Babelsberg again, appeared on stage as Medea or Mother Courage or sang Brecht songs.^[3] She painted in oil and went on reading tours with her own books.^[13]

In 1954 she married Hans Oliva-Hagen and they had a child named Catharina, singer and actress Nina Hagen.^[15] She divorced him in 1959^[16] over psychological issues.^[17]

Hagen lived in Hamburg, Berlin and the Uckermark.^[18] She is the grandmother of Cosma Shiva Hagen.^[15]

Hagen died on 16 August 2022 in Hamburg, at the age of 87.^[3][8]

• 1999 Carl Zuckmayer Medal for her autobiographical book Eva and the Wolf^[19]

Sources:^[10][2]

• Don't Forget My Little Traudel (1957), as Traudel
• Spur in die Nacht (1957), as Sabine
• Goods for Catalonia (1959), as Marion Stöckel
• The Dress (1961), as Katrin
• Reise ins Ehebett (1966), as Mary Lou
• Meine Freundin Sybille (1967), as Helena
• The Banner of Krivoi Rog (1967), as Elfriede
• The Legend of Paul and Paula (1973) as clubgoer
• Zum Beispiel Josef (Film) [de] (1974) as Ema
• Johannes Kepler (film) (1974) as Reinboldin
• Liebesfallen [de] (1976) as Frau Reitstock
• Nelken in Aspik [de] (1976) as Helene
• Gibbi Westgermany [de] (1980), as Gibbi's Mother
• Herzlich willkommen (1990), as Secretary
• Schroeder's Wonderful World [de] (2006), as Henriette Wolf
• Dinosaurier – Gegen uns seht ihr alt aus! [de] (2009), as Lena Braake

• Hagen, Eva-Maria (2006) [1999]. Eva und der Wolf (in German). Berlin. ISBN 978-3-548-60687-3. OCLC 180925349.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Evas schöne neue Welt (in German). Munich: Econ. 2000. ISBN 3-430-13756-X. OCLC 51859300.
• Eva jenseits vom Paradies (in German). Berlin: Ullstein. 2005. ISBN 3-550-07835-8. OCLC 58602556.