Inge Keller

Inge Keller (15 December 1923 – 6 February 2017) was a German stage and film actress whose career on stage and screen spanned seventy years. She was one of the most prominent performers in the former German Democratic Republic. Thomas Langhoff described her as "perhaps the most famous actress of the German Democratic Republic—a star." Deutschlandradio Kultur reporter Dieter Kranz called her "a theater legend".

Internationally, Keller was known for her portrayal of the older Lilly Wust in the Golden Globe nominated Aimée & Jaguar. She won the Award for the Best Supporting Actress in the 36th International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival for her participation in the film Lola and Billy the Kid.

In 2006, Keller received the Order of Merit of Berlin from Mayor Klaus Wowereit.

Early life

Keller was born to an affluent family in Berlin in 1923. Her father owned a quarry, and her mother was an industrialist's daughter. She had an older sister and a younger brother. Keller began studying acting on a whim, after a friend recommended it, and her family did not object.

Career

Debut

She made her debut on stage at the Kurfürstendamm Theater on 18 November 1942. In 1943, she became a member of the cast in the Freiberg State Theater, and then moved to the Theater Chemnitz in 1944. Alongside all other theaters in Nazi Germany, the latter was closed down on 1 September 1944, when Joseph Goebbels decided to "extend the Total War into the cultural sphere." Keller lost her exempt status as an actress (as did all artists who were not in the God's Gifted List) and was called up for the Reich Labour Service. She entered a sham marriage to avoid conscription, and divorced soon afterwards. Keller told interviewer Günter Gaus that she was "simply too lazy" to join.