Sonja Alice Selma Toni Ziemann (8 February 1926 – 17 February 2020) was a German film and television actress.

Years active 1942-1997

Spouses

Rudolf Hambach (1952–1956) (divorced) (1 child)
Marek Hlasko (1962–1965) (divorced)
Charles Regnier (1972–2001) (his death)

Children - Pierre Hambach (1953–1970)

Career

Beginning in 1941, Ziemann performed in operettas and revues. Following World War II, her performances primarily came at the Metropol-Theater in Berlin.

Ziemann began working in films when she was 15, and by age 18 "was a star of the first magnitude". She was a notable German film star in the 1950s, particularly in the Heimatfilm genre. She formed a screen couple with actor Rudolf Prack in a number of films, including The Black Forest Girl (1950) and The Heath Is Green (1951). Both films were viewed by over 15 million people in the cinema, making them two of the most successful films of the German post-war era.

Ziemann's work took on more of an international scope in the 1960s as she co-starred in The Secret Ways (1961), her first American film, and appeared in The Bridge at Remagen (1969).

In 1962, Ziemann returned to the stage, portraying Eliza Doolittle in productions of My Fair Lady in Zurich and Munich. She continued to appear on stage in various productions in the 1970s.

Personal life

With her first husband, the industralist Rudolf Hambach, Ziemann had a son named Pierre who died in 1970 at age 16 from cancer. In 1961, Ziemann married Polish novelist Marek Hlasko. In 1965, he divorced his wife. From 1972 until his death in 2001, she was married to her acting colleague Charles Regnier. Ziemann died in February 2020 at the age of 94.

Filmography

• A Gust of Wind (1942) - Gina Galassi
• Die Jungfern vom Bischofsberg (1943)
• Geliebter Schatz (1943) - Lette Eilers
• Hundstage (1944) - Marion Seidel
• Eine kleine Sommermelodie (1944) - Helga Gutentag
• Freunde (1945) - Vilma
• Tell the Truth (1946) - Lisa - seine Freundin
• Allez Hopp (1946) - Patsy
• King of Hearts (1947) - Dagmar Mauritius
• Ghost in the Castle (1947) - Bianca
• Liebe nach Noten (1947) - Mimi, Barners Nichte
• Thank You, I'm Fine (1948) - Irmgard Holk
• Paths in Twilight (1948) - Lissy Stenzel
• Nothing But Coincidence (1949) - Gerti Danzer
• My Wife's Friends (1949) - Fee Freiberg - Kabarettistin
• Nights on the Nile (1949) - Susanne
• Um eine Nasenlänge (1949) - Anni Klingebeil
• After the Rain Comes Sunshine (1949) - Sabine
• The Black Forest Girl (1950) - Käthe
• Maharadscha wider Willen (1950) - Brigitte Brummer - seine Tochter
• One Night Apart (1950) - Bärbele Riederle
• The Merry Wives of Windsor (1950) - Frau Fluth (Mistress Ford)
• You Have to be Beautiful (1951) - Maria Schippe
• Die Frauen des Herrn S. (1951) - Euritrite
• Johannes und die 13 Schönheitsköniginnen (1951) - Wally, Zigarettenverkäuferin
• The Heath Is Green (1951) - Helga
• The Thief of Bagdad (1952) - Fatme, die Diebin von Bagdad
• I Can't Marry Them All (1952) - Dschidschi
• Made in Heaven (1952) - Marta
• At the Well in Front of the Gate (1952) - Inge Bachner
• Dutch Girl (1953) - Antje
• Christina (1953)
• Life Begins at Seventeen (1953) - Madelien de Jeu
• The Private Secretary (1953) - Gerda Weber
• It Was Always So Nice With You (1954) - Ballettänzerin
• My Sister and I (1954) - Christine
• The Seven Dresses of Katrin (1954) - Katrin Burian
• The Big Star Parade (1954) - Sonja Ziemann
• The Little Czar (1954) - Sonja / Sonja Ilyanova
• Love Without Illusions (1955) - Ursula
• I Was an Ugly Girl (1955) - Anneliese Howald
• Mädchen ohne Grenzen (1955) - Helga Gruber
• The Bath in the Barn (1956) - Antje, Frau des Bürgermeisters
• Dany, bitte schreiben Sie (1956) - Daniela 'Dany' Ruland
• Opera Ball (1956) - Helene Hollinger, seine Frau
• Emperor's Ball (1956) - Franzi
• Nothing But Trouble with Love (1956)
• Supreme Confession (1956) - Giovanna
• The Zurich Engagement (1957) - Sonja Ziemann
• Spring in Berlin (1957) - Nicoline
• Doctor Bertram (1957) - Nelly
• The Italians They Are Crazy (1958)
• Tabarin (1958) - Rosine Forestier
• The Eighth Day of the Week (1958) - Agnieszka Walicka
• Serenade of Texas (1958) - Sylvia
• Stalingrad: Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever? (1959) - Katja
• Liebe auf krummen Beinen [de] (1959) - Eva
• Menschen im Hotel (1959) - Flämmchen
• Rebel Flight to Cuba (1959) - Carka
• Strafbataillon 999 [fr] (1960) - Julia Deutschmann
• Darkness Fell on Gotenhafen (1960) - Maria Reiser
• The Nabob Affair (1960) - La milliardaire
• The Secret Ways (1961) - Julia
• Denn das Weib ist schwach (1961) - Hanna Schäferkamp
• A Matter of WHO (1961) - Michele
• The Dream of Lieschen Mueller (1961) - Lieschen Müller
• Her Most Beautiful Day (1962) - Helen
• Journey Into Nowhere (1962) - Maria
• Axel Munthe, The Doctor of San Michele (1962) - Prinzessin Clementine
• Frühstück mit dem Tod (1964) - Rechtsanwältin Jane Painter-Talbot
• Halløj i himmelsengen [de] (1965) - Margot
• The Bridge at Remagen (1969) - Greta Holzgang
• De Sade (1969) - La Beauvoisin
• Das Messer [de] (1971, TV Mini-Series) - Mrs. Corby
• Germaine Damar - Der tanzende Stern (2011, TV Movie documentary) - Herself (final film role)