Leonie Benesch (; born 22 April 1991) is a German actress. She has played roles in various film and TV productions including Babylon Berlin, The Crown, Around the World in 80 Days and The Teachers' Lounge. For her role in the latter, in 2023, she received the award for Best Performance in a Leading Role at the German Film Awards.
Career In 2009, Benesch played the role of Eva in the film The White Ribbon, which won the Golden Palm. Film critics singled out her performance as "a discovery"."Eine Entdeckung": Filmfestspiele Cannes: Hanekes tödliches Geheimnis in: Die Presse vom 21. Mai 2009 She received the American "Young Artist Award" for her work, as well as a "New Faces Award". In 2010, she performed in Philip Koch's drama Picco and in Sophie Heldman's film (Satte Farben vor Schwarz), where she worked alongside Senta Berger and Bruno Ganz.
In 2017, Benesch performed in Babylon Berlin as Greta Overbeck, winning the "German Acting Prize". Benesch also performed in The Crown as the sister of Prince Philip, Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark. In 2020, she was cast in the BBC miniseries Around the World in 80 Days, alongside David Tennant as Phileas Fogg and Ibrahim Koma as Passepartout.
In 2023, she won the German Film Award for her leading role as an idealistic teacher (Carla Nowak) in the German drama The Teachers’ Lounge, cowritten and directed by İlker Çatak, in the category Best Female Leading Role. She was also nominated for the European Film Award, while a year later, the film received an Oscar nomination for Best International Film. Commenting on the success of the film in an interview, Benesch told GoldDerby, "the film was finished for nine months and nobody wanted to buy it. All the distributors said they didn’t see any international potential. It’s too small, it’s too much text, it’s too German. When we had our premiere in Ireland there was a buzz and we got sold out across the globe. It was a complete surprise!"
Personal life Benesch grew up in TübingenLeonie Benesch . as the oldest of four children, and attended the Freie WaldorfschuleLeonie Benesch: Genau diese Naivität, die Eva hat. In: Die Presse, 19. September 2009 and the Rudolf-Steiner-Schule in Bielefeld-Schildesche. She also attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes 2007 Beautiful Bitch Gitti 2009 The White Ribbon Eva2010 Picco Kevin's Girlfriend Colors in the Dark Yvonne 2011 Was uns zusteht Kerstin Short 2012 Morgenröte Lynn Short2013 Brüderlein Teresa George Margot Hanke TV film Das Jerusalem-Syndrom Maria Gärtner TV film2014 High Tide Is Dead on Time Mia Halbach TV film Die Frauen der Wikinger - Odins Töchter Jova TV film 2015 8 Seconds Helen 2019 Brecht Elisabeth Hauptmann2020 Phoenix Jenny Short Persian Lessons Elsa Der Überläufer Hildegard Roth 2023 The Teachers' Lounge Carla Nowak 2024 September 5Breaking Baz: ‘September 5’ Vividly Recalls Tragedy Of The 1972 Olympics Massacre & Jim McKay’s Haunting Announcement, “They’re All Gone” — Venice Film Festival Marianne 2025 Late Shift (Heldin) Floria
Television Year Title Role Notes2012 Cologne P.D. Nadia Winkowski Episode: "Zeugin in Angst" Der Kriminalist Clarissa von Tannenhof Episode: "Blaues Blut" 2013 Tatort Julia Episode: "Freunde bis in den Tod" 2017 Howards End Frieda Mosenbach 1 episode 2017, 2019 The Crown Princess Cecilie 3 episodes 2017–2020 Babylon Berlin Greta Overbeck Series regular2018 Counterpart Sofia 2 episodes Morden im Norden Gaby Zinke Episode: "Jäger und Sammler" 2019 Holiday Secrets Lara Series regular 2019 The Master Butcher Eva Series regular 2020 Spy City Eliza Hahn Series regular 2021 Around the World in 80 Days Abigail "Fix" Fortescue Main role 2023 The Swarm Charlie Wagner Main role 2024 Vienna Blood Helena Rieger 2 episodes 2026 Prisoner Nina Dragus 6 episodes
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2010 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in an International Feature Film - Leading Young Performer (with Leonard Proxauf)The White Ribbon New Faces Awards Best Actress 2014 Günter Strack TV Awards Best Young Actress Tatort - Episode:Freunde bis in den Tod 2018 German Screen Actors Awards Best Supporting Actress Babylon Berlin 2023 Shooting Stars Awards EFP Shooting Star - Actresses European Film Awards Best Actress The Teachers' Lounge German Film Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role The Teachers' Lounge 2026 European Film Awards Best Actress Late Shift
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