Brigitte Mira (, 20 April 1910 – 8 March 2005) was a German actress. She worked in both theater and film, and on many occasions, with Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Believed to have been born in Hamburg, she moved when young to Berlin. Mira's mother was German, and her father was Russian Jewish. During the Nazi era, Mira took part in the propaganda series Liese und Miese. She played Miese (germ. bad one): the bad role model, according to Nazi ideology, who listened to enemy radio stations and stockpiled rationed food. However, her acting skills turned the "bad" character she portrayed into a likeable one. The series was cancelled for being counterproductive. The propaganda directors did not know that Mira was half-Jewish because she had false papers. Although she insisted on her naivete as a young woman and that she had to conceal her origins, she was criticized later by some for taking part in these ads at all.
Notable performances include Emmi Kurowski in Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974), a role for which she won a German Film Award. In the 1980s, Mira achieved another big success with the television series Drei Damen vom Grill. She appeared in the 1991 stage production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies in Berlin.
Partial filmography
The Berliner (1948) as Dirne (1958) as Frau Mertens Münchhausen in Afrika (1958, voice) as Karla Mai When She Starts, Look Out (1958) as Frau Knax The Star of Santa Clara (1958) as Tante Theresa So ein Millionär hat's schwer (1958) as Madame Pillard Schlag auf Schlag (1959) as Sophie Hinze Melodie und Rhythmus (1959) as Pensionsleiterin Du bist wunderbar (1959) as Madame Dupont Im Namen einer Mutter (1960) as Mutter Reitner, Strafgefangene Geschminkte Jugend (1960) Ich kann nicht länger schweigen (1962) as Frau Ohl So toll wie anno dazumal (1962) as Frau Sommer Jack and Jenny (1963) as Thea (1968) as Frau Bütow Hotel by the Hour (1970) as Rose Schuh Twenty Girls and the Teachers (1971) as Wirtin Wir hau'n den Hauswirt in die Pfanne (1971) as Mutti Bauer Eight Hours Don't Make a Day (1973, TV series, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder) as Marions Mutter, Frau Andreas The Tenderness of Wolves (1973, directed by Ulli Lommel) as Louise Engel 1 Berlin-Harlem (1974) Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder) as Emmi The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974, directed by Werner Herzog) as Kathe, Servant Fox and His Friends (1975, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder) as Shopkeeper #2 Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven (1975, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder) as Emma Küsters (1975, TV film, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder) as Mutter The Secret Carrier (1975) Everyone Dies Alone (1976) as Frau Häberle (1976) as Oma Wuttke Satan's Brew (1976, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder) as Mutter Kranz Chinese Roulette (1976, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder) as Kast Adolf & Marlene (1977) Liebe das Leben, lebe das Lieben (1977) as Hauswartfrau Drei Damen vom Grill (1977–1992, TV series, 140 episodes) as Margarete Färber (1978) as Simons Mutter Iron Gustav (1979, TV miniseries) as Frau Pauli Derrick (1979, Season 6, Episode 12: "Ein Todesengel") as Frau Tobbe Primel macht ihr Haus verrückt (1980) as Frau Kulicke Fabian (1980) as Frau Hohlfeld Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980, TV miniseries) as Frau Bast / Wirtin Bast Lili Marleen (1981, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder) as Nachbarin (1981) as Denunziantin Kamikaze 1989 (1982) as Personaldirektorin The Roaring Fifties (1983) as Frau Willmsen (1984) as Frau Niendorf (1985) as Toilettenfrau Schwarzer Lohn und weiße Weste (1985) as Gemüsefrau Spreepiraten (1989–1990, TV series, 21 episodes) as Gundula Brachvogel Fassbinder's Women (2000, documentary by Rosa von Praunheim) as Herself
Dubbing roles Widow Tweed - Disney's The Fox and the Hound (1981)
References
External links
Brigitte Mira: Character actor who epitomised the spirit of old Berlin – The Guardian, 2005-03-25. Retrieved on 2010-04-21.