Margit Carstensen

Born

February 29, 1940

Died

June 1, 2023 (83 years old)

Known For

Acting

Place of Birth

Kiel, Germany

Margit Carstensen (29 February 1940 – 1 June 2023) was a German theatre and film actress, best known outside Germany for roles in the works of film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Carstensen was born and raised in the northern German city of Kiel. Upon graduation from the local high school in 1958, she studied acting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. This education led to her first stage appearances in Kleve, Heilbronn, Münster, and Braunschweig. In 1965, Carstensen began a four-year engagement with the German Playhouse in Hamburg.

In 1969, she gained a local profile for her work in the Theater am Goetheplatz in Bremen, where she first met director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She then worked under his direction in a comedy by the 18th-century Venetian Carlo Goldoni, The Coffee Shop (which was recorded for television in 1970), bringing her national attention in West Germany. She subsequently played the role of serial murderess Geesche Gottfried in the premiere of Fassbinder's own play Bremen Freedom (also televised, in 1972), and then in the title role of his Henrik Ibsen adaptation Nora Helmer (televised in 1974) derived from A Doll's House. Outside of theatre, Carstensen played leading roles in the Fassbinder films The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), her best-known role for him; Martha (1974), analysing a traditional marriage in a contemporary setting; Fear of Fear (1975); Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven (1975); Satan's Brew (1976); Chinese Roulette (1976) and Women in New York (1977). She also appeared in episodes of two Fassbinder television productions: Eight Hours Don't Make a Day (1972), and Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980).

From 1973 to 1976, Carstensen held a steady acting engagement in Darmstadt. In 1977, she moved to West Berlin where she performed on the highly regarded Staatliche Schauspielbühnen. In 1982, she moved to Stuttgart in order to work with director Hansgünther Heyme, where she appeared in a series of plays directed by him.

During this time, Carstensen also worked in international film productions, such as Andrzej Żuławski's Possession (1981) and Agnieszka Holland's Angry Harvest (1985); the latter was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. By the late 1980s, she had developed ongoing working relationships with German directors Werner Schroeter, Christoph Schlingensief, and Leander Haußmann.

For the 2003–04 season, Carstensen appeared in the Vienna Burgtheater, in the premiere of Elfriede Jelinek's play Bambiland under the direction of Schlingensief. During the 2007–08 season Carstensen assisted with the Austrian-German TV documentary Mr. Karl – A Person for People, directed by Kurt Mayer.

In 2016, she was still on television, appearing in the long-running series Tatort.

Carstensen received many awards in her career. Among these were the 1973 German Film Awards (Gold), for her acting in The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, and the 2002 Bavarian Film Award, for her acting in Scherbentanz. In 1972 she was chosen by the German Film Critics Guild as Best Actress of the Year. In 2019, she was awarded the Götz-George-Preis for her life's work.

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Schlingensief – A Voice That Shook the Silence

Schlingensief – A Voice That Shook the Silence

Self (archive footage)

6.0

2020

Fassbinder

Fassbinder

Self

6.2

2015

Fassbinder: Love Without Demands

Fassbinder: Love Without Demands

Self (archive footage)

6.4

2015

Finsterworld

Finsterworld

Frau Sandberg

6.3

2013

Mea Culpa – A ReadyMadeOpera

Mea Culpa – A ReadyMadeOpera

0.0

2009

Eine Kirche der Angst vor dem Fremden in mir

Eine Kirche der Angst vor dem Fremden in mir

0.0

2009

Mister Karl

Self

0.0

2008

It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine.

Linda Barnes

7.0

2007

Hands off Mississippi

Hands off Mississippi

Frau Strietzel

6.7

2007

Agnes and His Brothers

Agnes and His Brothers

Roxy

6.0

2004

Shattered Glass

Shattered Glass

Käthe

6.0

2002

Der Narr und seine Frau heute Abend in Pancomedia

Die Leserin

2.0

2002

Manila

Manila

Regine Gorler

5.0

2000

John Gabriel Borkman

Gunhild

0.0

2000

Sonnenallee

Sonnenallee

Director

6.7

1999

Rider of the Flames

Rider of the Flames

Sinclair's mother

0.0

1998

Gesche's Poison

Mutter Timm

0.0

1998

The 120 Days of Bottrop

The 120 Days of Bottrop

Self

5.6

1997

Terror 2000

Terror 2000

Margret

4.7

1993

100 Years of Adolf Hitler – The Last Hour in the Führerbunker

100 Years of Adolf Hitler – The Last Hour in the Führerbunker

Martha Goebbels

6.8

1989

Anwalt Abel

Frau Nussbauer · (1 episode)

0.0

1988

La moitié de l'amour

La moitié de l'amour

Ivy

0.0

1985

Angry Harvest

Angry Harvest

Eugenia

6.5

1985

Die wilden Fünfziger

Die wilden Fünfziger

Sekretärin

2.0

1983

Liebeskonzil

Liebeskonzil

Staatsanwältin

0.0

1982

Possession

Possession

Margit Gluckmeister

7.3

1981

Berlin Alexanderplatz

Berlin Alexanderplatz

Angel #1 · (14 episodes)

7.7

1980

Bayerischer Filmpreis

Self · (1 episode)

0.0

1979

The Third Generation

The Third Generation

Petra Vielhaber

6.1

1979

Spiel der Verlierer

Frl. Rosner

0.0

1978

Women in New York

Women in New York

Sylvia Fowler

5.7

1977

Adolf and Marlene

Adolf and Marlene

Marlene

6.0

1977

Chinese Roulette

Chinese Roulette

Ariane Christ

7.1

1977

Satan’s Brew

Satan’s Brew

Andree

6.4

1976

Fear of Fear

Fear of Fear

Margot

6.3

1975

Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven

Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven

Frau Thälmann

7.8

1975

Derrick

Derrick

Frau Hauser · (1 episode)

6.0

1974

Martha

Martha

Martha

7.0

1974

Nora Helmer

Nora Helmer

Nora Helmer

7.1

1974

World on a Wire

World on a Wire

Maya Schmidt-Genter · (2 episodes)

7.2

1973

Tenderness of the Wolves

Tenderness of the Wolves

Frau Lindner

5.7

1973

Bremen Freedom

Bremen Freedom

Geesche Gottfried

6.0

1972

Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day

Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day

Erste Hausfrau · (5 episodes)

7.6

1972

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

Petra von Kant

7.4

1972

The Ancestress

The Ancestress

Berta

0.0

1971

Scene of the Crime

Scene of the Crime

Margarethe · (1 episode)

6.1

1970

The Niklashausen Journey

The Niklashausen Journey

Margarete

6.0

1970

The Coffee House

The Coffee House

Vittoria

5.3

1970

Vorsicht Falle!

(1 episode)

0.0

1964

Deutscher Filmpreis

Self · (1 episode)

6.0

1951