Eva-Maria Hagen (néeBuchholz; German:[ˈeː.fama.ˈʁiː.aˈhaːgŋ̩]ⓘ; 19 October 1934 – 16 August 2022) was a German actress and singer. She was known as the "Brigitte Bardot of the GDR" but was banned from performance for political reasons.
Life
Hagen was born Eva-Maria Buchholz[2] in Költschen (present-day Poland) on 19 October 1934,[3] the daughter of farm workers from East Brandenburg.[4] In 1945, Költschen was occupied by the Soviet army and the family was expelled.[5] They moved to Perleberg, which became part of the GDR in 1949.[5]
In 1965, she met Wolf Biermann.[5] Despite becoming a successful film actress she was sidelined because of her relationship with Biermann.[11] He was a singer-songwriter whose politics kept him unemployed. In 1972, Biermann and Hagen separated.[5] In 1976, she publicly protested against Biermann's expatriation. She was dismissed without notice from the German television broadcaster Deutscher Fernsehfunk (DFF) in the GDR and banned from working.[12] In 1977, Hagen's citizenship in the GDR was revoked,[13] and she moved to West Germany the same year.[7]
She built up a second career as a chanson singer in addition to film and theater.[14] After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Hagen made films in Babelsberg again, appeared on stage as Medea or Mother Courage or sang Brecht songs.[3] She painted in oil and went on reading tours with her own books.[13]
Personal
In 1954 she married Hans Oliva-Hagen and they had a child named Catharina, singer and actress Nina Hagen.[15] She divorced him in 1959[16] over psychological issues.[17]
