Christine Kaufmann

This article is about the German actress. For the American state senator, see Christine Kaufmann (Montana politician).
Christine Kaufmann

Kaufmann in 2014
Born Christine Maria Kaufmann
(1945-01-11) 11 January 1945
Lengdorf, Styria, Germany (present-day Austria)
Occupation Actress, author, businesswoman
Years active 1952–present
Spouse(s) Tony Curtis (m. 1963; div. 1968)
Children
  • Alexandra (b. 1964)
  • Allegra (b. 1966)

Christine Maria Kaufmann (born 11 January 1945) is a German actress, author, and businesswoman. The daughter of a German father and a French mother, she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress in 1961, the first German to be so honoured. Christine Kaufmann has been called the "most beautiful grandmother in Germany".[1][2][3]

Life and career

She was born in Lengdorf, Styria, Austria, then part of Nazi Germany. Her mother, Geneviève Kaufmann (née Gavaert), was a French make-up artist; her father, Johannes Kaufmann, was a German Air Force officer and engineer.[4] Christine Kaufmann also has Circassian ancestry.[5]

Growing up in Munich, Bavaria, Kaufmann became a ballerina at the Munich Opera. She started her film career at the age of seven in the 1952 adaptation of The White Horse Inn. The film which brought her fame was Rose-Girl Resli, released in 1954, when she was only nine. She gained international recognition when she starred with Steve Reeves in The Last Days of Pompeii (1959) and with Kirk Douglas in Town Without Pity (1961). The following year she appeared in Escape from East Berlin.

In 1963, Kaufmann married Tony Curtis, whom she had met during the filming of Taras Bulba (1962). They had two daughters, Alexandra (born 19 July 1964) and Allegra (born 11 July 1966). They divorced in 1968. Kaufmann resumed her career, which she had interrupted during her marriage.((cn))

On German TV, Kaufmann has admitted to having an affair with Warren Beatty.[6][7]

Kaufmann is also a successful businesswoman, promoting her own cosmetics products line that sells well in Germany. She has written several books about beauty and health, as well as two autobiographies. She speaks three languages: German, English, and French.

Kaufmann enjoys travelling. She moves from one place to another frequently—a pattern that she believes to have inherited from her Circassian forefathers.[5] She currently divides her time between Hamburg and Munich.

Selected filmography

References

  1. ↑ Kaufmann, Christine (2012). "Der Sex-Appeal der schönsten Großmutter Deutschlands". ChristineKaufmann. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Kraft, Katja (2015). "Christine Kaufmann – Deutschlands schönste Oma wird 70" [Christine Kaufmann – Germany's most beautiful grandmother turns 70]. Hamburger Abendblatt (in German). Hamburg. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Deutschlands berühmte Großmütter" [Germany's famous grandmothers]. Die Welt (in German). Berlin. 11 June 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Das Doppelleben der Christine Kaufmann" [The double life of Christine Kaufmann]. RP Online (in German). Frankfurt am Main. 2005. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 Hinkofer, Christine (2014). "Christine Kaufmann: Die Lust und Last zu reisen" (Interview). Interview with Christine Kaufmann. Munich. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Lafer! Lichter! Lecker! ZDF, November 1, 2014.
  7. ↑ von Mutius, Franziska (2014). "Christine Kaufmann schreibt Hollywood-Affären" [Christine Kaufmann writes Hollywood affairs]. Bild (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
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