Alexandra Maria Lara
Alexandra Maria Lara | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lara in 2020 | |
| Born | Alexandra Maria Plătăreanu 12 November 1978 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Father | Valentin Plătăreanu |
Alexandra Maria Lara (née Plătăreanu; 12 November 1978)[1] is a Romanian-German actress, best known internationally for her roles in the films Downfall (2004), Control (2007), Youth Without Youth (2007), The Reader (2008), Rush (2013), and Geostorm (2017).[2] From 2022 to 2025, she served as co-president of the Deutsche Filmakademie.[3]
Early life
Born in Bucharest, Lara is the only child of actor Valentin Plătăreanu and his wife, Doina. Her father was a successful actor and director in Romania, directing many plays such as Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare and Hernani by Victor Hugo.
In 1983, her family emigrated to West Germany from their home in Bucharest, Romania. Although the family had originally planned to emigrate to Canada, they settled in Freiburg im Breisgau, before eventually moving to West Berlin. She became fluent in German.
Career
By sixteen Lara was playing lead roles in various television dramas; since then she has appeared in films, including as Traudl Junge, Adolf Hitler's secretary, in the Academy Award-nominated 2004 film Downfall; following this Francis Ford Coppola wrote her a letter and gave her a leading role in Youth Without Youth (2007).
In 2007 Lara appeared as Belgian journalist Annik Honoré in the biopic Control. In 2008 she served as a member of the Cannes Film Festival jury. She has also appeared in several French productions, including Napoléon and L'Affaire Farewell. She appeared in The Reader and Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, which were both nominated for the 81st Academy Awards for best picture and best foreign language film respectively.
In 2018 Lara starred with her husband, Sam Riley, in Happy New Year, Colin Burstead by Ben Wheatley, playing his German girlfriend.[4]
Alongside Florian Gallenberger, Lara served as president of the Deutsche Filmakademie from 2022 to 2025.[3][5]
Personal life
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In August 2009 Lara married English actor Sam Riley, with whom she had acted in the films Control and Suite Française.[6] In January 2014 she gave birth to their first child, a boy.[7][8] They played a couple on screen in Ben Wheatley's drama Happy New Year, Colin Burstead.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | I Desire You | Mädchen am Bahnhof | |
| 1997 | Das Vorsprechen | Junge Schauspielerin | Short film |
| 1999 | Sperling (Sperling und der falsche Freund) | ||
| Our Island in the South Pacific | Sandra | ||
| 2000 | Just Messing About | Hanna | |
| Crazy | Melanie | ||
| 2001 | Honolulu | Cleonise | |
| 99 Euro Films | Segment "Privat" | ||
| Leo & Claire | Käthe Katzenberger | ||
| 2002 | If It Don't Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer | Astrid | |
| Naked | Annette | ||
| 2004 | Leise Krieger | Nora | Short film |
| Downfall | Traudl Junge | ||
| Cowgirl | Johanna 'Paula' Jakobi / Murderous Lady im Film Noir | ||
| 2005 | About the Looking for and the Finding of Love | Venus Morgenstern | |
| The Fisherman and His Wife | Ida | ||
| 2006 | Offset | Brindusa Herghelegiu | |
| Where Is Fred? | Denise Poppnick | ||
| 2007 | Control | Annik Honore | |
| I Really Hate My Job | Suzie | ||
| Youth Without Youth | Veronica / Laura / Rupini | ||
| 2008 | Miracle at St. Anna | Axis Sally | |
| The Baader Meinhof Complex | Petra Schelm | ||
| The Reader | Young Ilana Mather | ||
| 2009 | Kaifeck Murder | Juliana Lukas | |
| The City of Your Final Destination | Deirdre Rothemund | ||
| Farewell | Jessica | ||
| City of Life | Natalia Moldovan | ||
| 2010 | The Nazi Officer's Wife | ||
| A Distant Neighborhood | Anna Verniaz | ||
| Small World | Simone Senn | ||
| 2011 | Woman in Love | Sarah | |
| 2012 | Lullaby Ride | Livia | |
| Imagine | Eva | ||
| Move On | Lena | ||
| 2013 | Rush | Marlene Lauda | |
| 2015 | Suite Française | Leah | |
| 2016 | The Most Beautiful Day | Mona | |
| Robbi, Tobbi und das Fliewatüüt | Sharon Schalldämpfer (voice) | ||
| Sing | Rosita (voice) | German-language dub | |
| Vier gegen die Bank | Freddie | ||
| 2017 | Geostorm | Ute Fassbinder | |
| 2018 | 25 km/h | Ingrid | |
| Sealed Lips | Antonia Berger | ||
| Happy New Year, Colin Burstead | Hannah | ||
| 2019 | The Collini Case | Johanna | |
| 2020 | Børning 3: Asphalt Burning | Robin | |
| 2021 | The King's Man | Emily Oxford | |
| 2022 | The Sitting Duck | Julie | |
| 2025 | Bulk | Aclima | |
| 2026 | Eat Pray Bark | Ursula Brandmeier |
Television
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Stella Stellaris | Miniseries | |
| 1996 | Mensch, Pia! | Pia Mangold | 10 episodes |
| 1997 | Faust | Laura | Episode: "Tote weinen nicht" |
| 1998 | Girl's Trap – Death Comes Online | Silke Hartmann | TV film |
| Tatort | Kerstin | Episode: "Fürstenschüler" | |
| The Bubi Scholz Story | Young Renate | TV film | |
| 1999 | Polizeiruf 110 | Meike | Episode: "Sumpf" |
| 2000 | Vertrauen ist alles | Jennifer Blankenburg | TV film |
| Lady Cop | Sabine Sasse | Episode: "Die Geliebte des Killers" | |
| Force Majeure | Nicolette | TV film | |
| 2001 | The Tunnel | Charlotte 'Lotte' Lohmann | |
| 2002 | Liebe und Verrat | Marie Irimia | |
| Schleudertrauma | Doreen | ||
| Napoléon | Comtesse Marie Walewska | Miniseries | |
| Doctor Zhivago | Tonya Gromyko Zhivago | ||
| Trenck | Princess Amélie | TV film | |
| 2004 | The Wishing Tree | Camilla Senger geb. Hofmann | Miniseries |
| 2007 | The Company | Lili | |
| 2017 | You Are Wanted | Hanna Franke | 12 episodes |
| 2022 | Toutes ces choses qu'on ne s'est pas dites | Julia Saurel | 9 episodes |
References
- ^ "Alexandra Maria Lara BIO". imaginethefilm.org. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
- ^ Alexandra Maria Lara at IMDb
- ^ a b Bert Rebhandl (21 June 2022), Deutsche Filmakademie: Es ist schlimmer, als man sieht Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
- ^ "Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (2018) - IMDb".
- ^ Wolfgang Höbel (24 April 2025), Neue Leitung der Deutschen Filmakademie: »Den Franzosen fällt es leichter als den Deutschen, die eigene Kultur zu hypen« Der Spiegel.
- ^ "Sam Riley is married to Alexandra Maria Lara". Zimbio. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
- ^ "Sam Riley's wife pregnant | Showbiz | News | Daily Express". Express.co.uk. 8 September 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- ^ "Alexandra Maria Lara: Baby-Geschlecht bekannt!". Promiflash.de. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
External links
- Official website (in German)
- Alexandra Maria Lara at IMDb
- 2005 interview on cineastentreff.de (in German)