Monica Bleibtreu (4 May 1944 – 13 May 2009) was an Austrian actress and screenwriter, best known in the German-speaking world for her German film, television and stage roles.

Life and career

Bleibtreu was born in Vienna, Austria, the daughter of Helene Buchholt and Renato Attilio Bleibtreu. She studied drama at the renowned Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna and made her cinema debut in Ludwig-Requiem for a Virgin King in 1972. Her later roles included appearances in Vier Minuten and Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run, which also starred her son, actor Moritz Bleibtreu.

She also starred as Katia Mann in Heinrich Breloers television biodrama, The Manns - Novel of a Century, and in Hilde, a biopic of the late German actress and singer Hildegard Knef, which was released in 2009. From 1993 to 1998 Bleibtreu taught drama at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg.

Bleibtreu died on 13 May 2009, aged 65, in Hamburg, Germany, after a long battle with cancer. German President Horst Koehler released a statement saying he was "dismayed" by her death, telling her son that "she enthused countless people" during her career.

Her last films, The Murder Farm or Tannöd, directed by Bettina Oberli, and Soul Kitchen, directed by Fatih Akın, were released in 2009 after her death.

Filmography (selection)

• 1969 Change (1969 film)
• 1972 König Ludwig
• 1973 Adele Spitzeder
• 1976 Lemminge
• 1976 Mittags auf dem Roten Platz
• 1980 Ich werde warten
• 1982 Variation (1982 film)
• 1982 Das Dorf an der Grenze - TV mini-series
• 1986 Der Joker
• 1997 Run Lola Run
• 1997 Rosenzweigs Freiheit
• 1998 Tödliche Schatten
• 1999 Marlene (2000 film)
• 2000 Die Manns - Ein Jahrundertroman - TV mini-series
• 2001 Bibi Blocksberg
• 2001 Tattoo (2002 film)
• 2001 Amen.
• 2002 Himmel Polt und Hölle
• 2003 Bibi Blocksberg - Und Das Geheimnis Der Blauen Eulen
• 2003 Wellen (film)
• 2003 Der Wunschbaum - TV mini-series
• 2004 Marias Letzte Reise
• 2005 Four Minutes
• 2006 Das Herz Ist Ein Dunkler Wald
• 2007 Die Zweite Frau
• 2007 Max Minski Und Ich
• 2008 Hilde (film)
• 2008 Tannöd
• 2008 Ladylike (TV)