Biography

Monica Bleibtreu (born May 4, 1944, in Vienna; died May 13, 2009, in Hamburg) was an Austrian actress, acting instructor, and screenwriter. Bleibtreu hailed from a family with a long-standing theatrical tradition. Her father, Renato Attilio Bleibtreu, directed the *Wiener Zimmerbühne* in Mödling, and her great-aunt was the renowned actress Hedwig Bleibtreu. Following the financial failure of the theater, Monica Bleibtreu was compelled to contribute to her family's livelihood while still a teenager. At the age of sixteen, she moved to Hamburg, where she took acting lessons. She later studied at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. Her career began on the stage, where she performed at venues including the *Schillertheater* in Berlin, the *Freie Volksbühne Berlin*, the *Münchner Kammerspiele*, and the *Burgtheater*. From 1993 to 1998, Bleibtreu served as a professor of acting at the University of Music and Theatre Hamburg. She landed her first television role in 1972 in the crime series *Der Kommissar*. Over the following decades, she established herself as one of the most distinguished character actresses in German-language film and television. Her later works include the television film *Ein starker Abgang*—starring alongside Bruno Ganz—as well as the feature films *Tannöd* and *Soul Kitchen*, both of which were released posthumously. Her son, the actor Moritz Bleibtreu, was born of her relationship with the actor Hans Brenner. Monica Bleibtreu died in Hamburg in 2009 at the age of 65.