2
Born · April 25, 1903
Died · August 14, 1996 (93 years old)
Known For: Acting
Place of Birth: Frankfurt am Main, Germany
The daughter of a railroad official, Camilla Horn was educated in Germany and Switzerland. She initially trained as a dressmaker and received her first job experience in a fashion salon in Erfurt. This was merely a stepping stone for a performing career which began with dance lessons in Berlin and subsequent acting studies under Lucie Höflich. The lithe, blond and strikingly beautiful Camilla soon appeared in cabaret revues staged by Rudolf Nelson. By 1926, she was employed as an extra at Ufa, where she was spotted by the director F.W. Murnau, who found in her the ideal representation of Gretchen for his seminal production of Fausto (1926) . The role catapulted Camilla to instant stardom. Within a year, she was signed by United Artists in Hollywood, befriending Charles Chaplin and, more importantly, studio chairman Joseph M. Schenck. The friendship with Schenck may, or may not, have led to an affair -- depending on which story one is to believe -- but it did result in two high profile starring roles opposite John Barrymore in the torrid melodramas Tempestad (1928) and Amor eterno (1929), both produced by Schenck. Neither film was a commercial success. With the coming of sound, Camilla returned to Europe, briefly appearing on stage in London and Paris, before resuming her screen career in Germany. As the 1930's went on, she rarely turned down a role, playing anything from baronesses and fashion models, to vamps and 'fallen women'. The quality of her films was variable, but there were several noteworthy standouts, such as Hans in allen Gassen (1930) (opposite Hans Albers), Fiesta en palacio (1934) and Payasos (1938) (as a circus artiste, again with Albers). During this tumultuous decade, Camilla conducted a lengthy affair with the singer Louis Graveure, fifteen years her senior. This came to an end in 1938, when Graveure was suspected of espionage by the Gestapo and fled to England, via the Cote d'Azure. After her luxury villa in Berlin was ransacked in search for non-existent clues, Camilla's outspoken criticism of the Nazi regime reached a point where it got her into serious trouble. She saw out the first half of her career with a trio of long forgotten films made in Italy. Having failed in an attempt to flee to Switzerland, she kept a low profile and even tried her hand at farming. After the war, she had a stint as an interpreter for the occupying U.S. forces in Germany. Camilla made a successful return to the stage in a 1948 Frankfurt production of Jean Cocteau's "L'Aigle a Deux Tetes" (aka 'The Eagle Has Two Heads'). She spent the latter half of her acting career playing grand dames, matriarchs and worldly ladies with colourful backgrounds, in both films and on television. In 1974, she was awarded the 'Filmband in Gold' (also known as 'Lola') for lifetime achievement in the German film industry. In her 1985 autobiography, "Verliebt in die Liebe" ('In Love with Love'), she happily recounted her marriages and liaisons.
Herself / Gretchen (archive footage)
7.0
2002
Self
0.0
1992
0.0
1989
Fürstin Großmutter
1.0
1988
Olga Benjamin
3.5
1987
Dr. Rens′ Mutter · (1 episode)
6.4
1985
(1 episode)
0.0
1982
Frau von Kieblitz
8.0
1982
Self · (1 episode)
0.0
1979
Wegelin's Mother
0.0
1970
Paula
4.0
1970
Frau von Marwitz · (1 episode)
0.0
1969
Evelyn Brown
5.3
1968
Frau Neumann · (1 episode)
0.0
1967
Elizabeth Almond
0.0
1958
Baronin von Baran
0.0
1953
Diana Bianca, Dompteuse
0.0
1952
Self · (1 episode)
6.0
1951
Gritt Faller
0.0
1949
Helene
0.0
1948
Elise Sander
5.2
1944
Corinna Dellys, l'amante di Alberto
5.0
1942
Mariella Fiorini
5.5
1941
Renée Lemonier
5.0
1940
Lilly
0.0
1940
Dina Horster
0.0
1940
Lissi
0.0
1940
Diane Mercier
5.0
1939
Käthe Üding - seine Frau
0.0
1939
Marion
0.0
1938
Pepita, Kunstreiterin
4.0
1938
Gräfin Ogolenska
5.0
1938
Vera Dalmatoff
0.0
1937
Maria Várady
0.0
1937
Manja - seine Tochter
0.0
1937
Hasia Nowrowska
0.0
1935
Ivonne Brandt
0.0
1934
Vera
0.0
1934
Fürstin Stefanie
0.0
1934
Louise
0.0
1934
Helga
0.0
1934
Jenny Miller
6.0
1934
Inge Winkler
0.0
1934
Vilma
0.0
1933
Lilly
0.0
1933
Sonia Vance
5.0
1933
Fifi
0.0
1933
Vera
0.0
1933
Elga
0.0
1932
Alice Ménard
0.0
1932
Camilla
0.0
1932
Letta Larbo
0.0
1931
0.0
1931
Gaby
0.0
1931
0.0
1931
Ellen Hobart
0.0
1931
Elisabeth, the Bride
7.0
1930
Eva von Loe
6.0
1930
Nelly Wendt
0.0
1930
Andrea
0.0
1930
Diane D'Artois
0.0
1930
Alice Doren
0.0
1929
Lady Edith Trent
0.0
1929
Ciglia
5.5
1929
Princess Tamara
6.4
1928
Clärchen Gunderloch
0.0
1927
Camille de Saxe
8.0
1927
Adrienne Brisson
0.0
1927
0.0
1926
Gretchen Marguerite
7.9
1926
(uncredited)
7.2
1926
7.1
1925