# Iris Berben

Iris Renate Dorothea Berben (pronounced , born 12 August 1950) is a German actress.

## Biography

Berben was born in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia. She grew up in Hamburg, where her parents ran a restaurant.
Berben has appeared in about 150 film and television productions since 1969. Until today, Berben plays leading roles in a large number of German television productions, including the sitcom Zwei himmlische Töchter in the 1970s and the comedy show Sketchup with Diether Krebs in the 1980s. One of her best-known roles is the title character, a no-nonsense police commissioner, in the long-running crime series Rosa Roth between 1994 and 2013. Among her film roles are Sergio Corbucci's western Compañeros (1970) with Franco Nero, the Thomas Mann film adaption Die Buddenbrooks (2008) and the barmaid Petra in the sport film Eddie the Eagle (2016).
After the Six-Day War in 1967, she travelled to Israel, and afterwards became the partner of the Israeli singer Abi Ofarim. Since then, she has been a supporter of Israel and has also repeatedly campaigned against antisemitism. She had a son, Oliver, in 1971, but never revealed the identity of the father.
In 2010, together with Bruno Ganz, Berben was elected president of the German Film Academy. She served as a SPD delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2017.

## Filmography

* Detectives (1969)
* The Man with the Glass Eye (1969)
* The Arsonists [de] (1969)
* Jill in the Box [de] (1970)
* Compañeros (1970)
* Supergirl (1971)
* Ulla oder Die Flucht in die schwarzen Wälder (1974, TV film)
* Mademoiselle de Scuderi (1976, TV film)
* Tea for Three (1976)
* Derrick – Series 4, Episode 3: "Eine Nacht im Oktober" (1977, TV)
* Zwei himmlische Töchter (1978, TV series)
* Derrick – Series 5, Episode 6: "Klavierkonzert" (1978, TV)
* Ach du lieber Harry (1980)
* Joyride [de] (1983)
* Angelo und Luzy (1984, TV series)
* Knock on the Wrong Door [de] (1984)
* Siggi, the Street Cleaner [de] (1984)
* Rallye Paris – Dakar (1984)
* Beinahe Trinidad (1985)
* Sketchup (1985–1986, TV series)
* Rückfahrt in den Tod (1986, TV film)
* Das Erbe der Guldenburgs (1986–1990, TV series)
* A Touch of Danger [de] (1988, TV film)
* Three D [de] (1988)
* Karambolage [de] (1989, TV film)
* Das Geheimnis des gelben Geparden [de] (1990, TV film)
* The Second Life (1990, TV film)
* Saint Peter's Snow (1991, TV film)
* The Frog Prince [de] (1991)
* Cosimas Lexikon [de] (1992)
* Das große Fest [de] (1992, TV film)
* Dornberger (1992, TV film)
* Rochade [cs] (1992, TV film)
* A Man for My Wife (1993, TV film)
* Sommerliebe [fr] (1994, TV film)
* Death in Miami [de] (1994, TV film)
* Rudy, the Racing Pig [de] (1995)
* Rosa Roth (1994–2013, TV series, 31 episodes)
* Peanuts – The Bank Pays Everything [de] (1996)
* Code Red (1997, TV film)
* Andrea and Marie [de] (1998, TV film)
* Ultimate Trespass [de] (1998, TV film)
* Mrs. Rettich, Czerni and I [de] (1998)
* Am I Beautiful? (1998)
* Das Miststück [de] (1998, TV film)
* Die Zauberfrau [de] (1999, TV film)
* Ein mörderischer Plan (2000, TV film)
* The Beast [de] (2000, TV film)
* One Hell of a Night [de] (2001, TV film)
* Wer liebt, hat Recht (2001, TV film)
* 666 – Traue keinem, mit dem du schläfst! (2001)
* Beloved Sister [de] (2002, TV film)
* Die schöne Braut in Schwarz [de] (2002, TV film)
* Schöne Witwen küssen besser [de] (2004, TV film)
* Die Patriarchin (2005, TV miniseries)
* Das Kommando [de] (2005, TV film)
* Silver Wedding [de] (2006, TV film)
* Cold Summer [de] (2006, TV film)
* Afrika, mon amour (2007, TV miniseries)
* Suddenly Gina [de] (2007, TV film)
* Duel at Night [de] (2007, TV film)
* The Sibyl Cipher [de] (2008, TV film)
* Die Buddenbrooks (2008)
* Krupp: A Family Between War and Peace [de] (2009, TV miniseries)
* The Day Will Come [de] (2009)
* Kennedy's Brain [de] (2010, TV film)
* Tiger Team: The Mountain of the 1000 Dragons [de] (2010)
* Years of Love [de] (2011, TV film)
* The Pursuit of Unhappiness [de] (2012)
* The Wagner-Clan [de] (2013, TV film)
* Miss Sixty [de] (2014)
* The Witness House [de] (2014, TV film)
* Traumfrauen (2015)
* Eddie the Eagle (2015)
* Family! [de] (2016, TV film)
* Crossroads [de] (2018, TV film)
* How About Adolf? (2018)
* Family Affairs [de] (2022)
* Triangle of Sadness (2022)
* The Interpreter of Silence (2023)

## Audiobooks (excerpt)

* 2005: Françoise Sagan, Bonjour Tristesse. Publisher: Random House Audio Köln, ISBN 978-3-89830-972-1.
* 2006: Minka Pradelski, Und da kam Frau Kugelmann. Publisher: Random House Audio Köln, ISBN 978-3-86604-185-1.
* 2007: Anna Gmeyner, Manja. Publisher: Hörkultur, ISBN 978-3-9523087-4-5.
* 2010: Petra Hammesfahr, Die Mutter. Publisher: Random House Audio Köln, gekürzt 4 CDs 296 Min., ISBN 978-3-8371-0442-4
* 2011: Marina Lewycka, Kurze Geschichte des Traktors auf Ukrainisch. Publisher: Random House Audio Köln, ISBN 978-3-8371-0875-0.
* 2011: Iris Berben liest Verbrannte Bücher – Verfemte Komponisten. Publisher: Verlag Herder, ISBN 978-3-451-31978-5.
* 2015: Brüder Grimm (Brothers Grimm), Brüderchen und Schwesterchen. Publisher: Amor Verlag, ISBN 978-3-944063-72-0.
* 2015: Brüder Grimm (Brothers Grimm), Frau Holle. Publisher: Amor Verlag, ISBN 978-3-944063-71-3.
* 2016: Hans Christian Andersen, Die kleine Meerjungfrau (The Little Mermaid). Publisher: Amor Verlag, ISBN 978-3-944063-95-9.
* 2017: David Walliams, Zombie-Zahnarzt, publisher: Argon Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8398-4122-8.
* 2021: Petra Hammesfahr, Der stille Herr Genardy, publisher: Lübbe Audio, ISBN 978-3-7540-0054-0 (Audiobook-Download)

## Awards

* Bundesverdienstkreuz 1997
* Goldene Europa GALA-Sonderpreis 2000
* Scopus Award 2001
* Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 2003
* Women's World Award – World Tolerance Award 2004
* Bayerischer Verdienstorden 2005
* Karl Valentin Order 2007
* Platinum Romy Award 2018
* Golden Eye Award, Zurich Film Festival 2020