Editing Elisabeth Bergner

{{Short description|German actress (1897–1986)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name           = Elisabeth Bergner
| image          = Elisabeth Bergner.jpg
| caption        = Elisabeth Bergner, 1935
| birth_name     = Ella vel Ettel Bergner<ref>{{cite web |url=http://agadd2.home.net.pl/metrykalia/300_new/album/1767/index.html |title=Birth certificate of Elisabeth Bergner giving forename as "Ella vel Ettel"
|access-date=17 November 2024}}</ref>
| birth_date     = {{Birth date|1897|8|22|df=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Drohobych]], [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] (now [[Drohobych]], [[Ukraine]])
| death_date     = {{Death date and age|1986|5|12|1897|8|22|df=y}}
| death_place    = [[London]], England
| occupation     = Actress
| yearsactive    = 1924–1984
| spouse         = {{marriage|[[Paul Czinner]]|1933|1972|end=d}}<ref name=nndb>{{cite web |url=http://www.nndb.com/people/295/000354230/ |title=Elisabeth Bergner |website=Nndb.com |access-date=2 December 2017}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Elisabeth Bergner visit to Israel (997008136432705171).jpg|thumb|alt=Elisabeth Bergner during her visit to Israel, 1949. Beno Rothenberg, Meitar collection, National Library of Israel|Elisabeth Bergner during her visit to Israel, 1949. [[Beno Rothenberg]], Meitar collection, [[National Library of Israel]]]]

'''Elisabeth Bergner''' (22 August 1897 – 12 May 1986) was an Austrian-British actress. Primarily a stage actress, her career flourished in Berlin and Paris before she moved to London to work in films. Her signature role was Gemma Jones in ''[[Escape Me Never (play)|Escape Me Never]]'', a play written for her by [[Margaret Kennedy]].<ref>[http://www.playbill.com/production/the-two-mrs-carrolls-booth-theatre-vault-0000001785 Biography (1943)], playbill.com. Accessed 13 December 2016.</ref> She played Gemma, first in London and then in the Broadway debut, and in a [[Escape Me Never (1935 film)|film version]] for which she was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]]. In 1943, Bergner returned to Broadway in the play ''The Two Mrs. Carrolls'', for which she won the [[Delia Austrian medal|Distinguished Performance Medal]] from the [[Drama League of New York|Drama League]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pgwEAAAAMBAJ&q=elisabeth+bergner+drama+league+award&pg=PT28 |title=Broadway Show Log |magazine=The Billboard |volume=56 |issue=20 |page=29 |date=13 May 1944 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media |access-date=2 December 2017 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

==Early life==
She was born Ella vel Ettel Bergner in [[Drohobych]], [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] (present-day Ukraine) to Sara (née Wagner) and Emil ({{ne}} Schmelke Juda) Bergner,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://agadd.home.net.pl/metrykalia/300/sygn.%201767/pages/PL_1_300_1767_0107.htm |title=Birth certificate of Elisabeth Bergner |access-date=13 January 2022}}</ref> a merchant. She grew up in a secular Jewish home. The Hebrew she heard in her childhood was associated with [[Yom Kippur]] and [[Pesach]], and on her visits to Israel, she apologized for not knowing the language.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=rDkcAQAAIAAJ&q=Elisabeth+Ettel+1897 Elisabeth Ettel background], books.google.ca; accessed March 6, 2015.</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jmMRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JpcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7159,828205 Bergner profile], books.google.ca. Accessed 6 March 2015.</ref><ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/comfort-comfort-my-people-1.426849 Profile], Haaretz.com. Accessed 6 March 2015.</ref>

She first acted on stage at age 14, and appeared in Innsbruck a year later. In Vienna at age 16, she toured Austrian and German provinces with a Shakespearean company. She worked as an artist's model, posing for sculptor [[Wilhelm Lehmbruck]], who fell in love with her. She eventually moved to Munich and later Berlin.<ref name="jwa">[http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bergner-elisabeth Profile], jwa.org. Accessed 6 March 2015.</ref>

==Career==
In 1923, she made her film debut in ''Der Evangelimann''. With the rise of [[Nazism]], Bergner moved to London with director [[Paul Czinner]], and they married in 1933. Her stage work in London included ''The Boy David'' (1936) by [[J.M. Barrie]], his last play, which he wrote especially for her, and ''[[Escape Me Never (play)|Escape Me Never]]'' by [[Margaret Kennedy]]. ''[[Catherine the Great (1934 film)|Catherine the Great]]'' was banned in Germany because of the government's racial policies, according to ''Time'' on 26 March 1934.<ref name="jwa" /> She was naturalised as a British subject in 1938.

She was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] for the film version of ''Escape Me Never'' (1935). She repeated her stage role of [[Rosalind Franklin|Rosalind]], opposite [[Laurence Olivier]]'s Orlando, in the 1936 film ''[[As You Like It (1936 film)|As You Like It]]'', the first sound film version of [[Shakespeare]]'s play, and the first sound film of any Shakespeare play filmed in England. Bergner had previously played the role on the German stage, and several critics found that her accent got in the way of their enjoyment of the film, which was not a success. She returned intermittently to the stage, for instance in the title role of [[John Webster]]'s ''[[The Duchess of Malfi]]'' in 1946.<ref name "nyt">[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/10/15/94065382.html?pageNumber=39 Bergner in ''The Duchess of Malfi''], nytimes.com. Accessed 21 March 2023.</ref>

In 1954, Bergner temporarily returned to Germany, where she acted in movies and on the stage; the Berlin district of [[Steglitz-Zehlendorf|Steglitz]] named a city park after her. In 1973, she starred in ''Der Fußgänger'' (English title: ''[[The Pedestrian (film)|The Pedestrian]]''), which was nominated for an [[Academy Award]] and which won the [[Golden Globe]] for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign-Language Foreign Film]] of 1974. In 1980, Austria awarded her the [[Austrian Decoration for Science and Art|Cross of Merit for Science and Art]], and, in 1982, she won the Eleonora Duse Prize Asolo.<ref name="jwa" />

==Personal life==
Bergner was married once, to Hungarian-born British writer, film director, and producer [[Paul Czinner]], from 1933 to 1972.<ref name=nndb/>

She was the source for the story which became the 1950 [[Academy Award for Best Picture]]-winning film ''[[All About Eve]]''. According to ''[[The New York Times]]'' obituary for writer [[Mary Orr]], Bergner told Orr about an experience that provided her with the inspiration for the short story that gave birth to the character of [[All About Eve|Eve Harrington]]. "[[The Wisdom of Eve]]" appeared  in ''Cosmopolitan'' in 1946. The play based on that story was the basis for [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]'s screenplay for the film. The episode occurred when Bergner was performing in the play ''[[The Two Mrs. Carrolls]]''. Bergner took pity on a "waif-like" young woman who stood outside the theater for days on end. She gave her a job as her secretary, and  the young actress tried to  "take over" Bergner's life.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/06/obituaries/06orr.html|title=Mary Orr, 95, an Author Who Inspired 'All About Eve', Is Dead|last=Fox|first=Margalit|date=2006-10-06|work=The New York Times|access-date=7 October 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Bergner was also reputedly the inspiration for the character of Dora Martin in the novel ''[[Mephisto (novel)|Mephisto]]'' by [[Klaus Mann]].<ref name="Rowohlt">[http://www.rowohlt.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=3167 ''Mephisto''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403210337/http://www.rowohlt.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=3167 |date=3 April 2015}}, Rowohlt.de; accessed 18 May 2015.{{in lang|de}}</ref>

==Death==
She later moved to London, where she died, aged 88, from cancer.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/13/obituaries/elisabeth-bergner-an-actress-in-plays-and-films-dies-at-85.html|title=Elisabeth Bergner, an Actress in Plays and Films, Dies at 85|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 13, 1986|access-date=October 6, 2019}}</ref> She was cremated at [[Golders Green Crematorium]] on 15 May 1986, where she is commemorated with an oval memorial tablet in the West Cloister.

==Bibliography==
* Anne Jespersen: Toedliche Wahrheit oder raffinierte Taeuschung. "Die Frauen in den Filmen Elisabeth Bergners" in Michael Omasta, Brigitte Mayr, Christian Cargnelli (eds.): ''Carl Mayer, Scenarist: Ein Script von ihm war schon ein Film'' – "A script by [[Carl Mayer]] was already a film". Synema, Vienna 2003; {{ISBN|978-3-901644-10-8}} {{in lang|de|en}}

==Partial filmography==
{{Div col}}
*''[[The Evangelist (1924 film)|The Evangelist]]'' (1924) - Magdalena
*''[[Husbands or Lovers (1924 film)|Husbands or Lovers]]'' (1924) - Nju
*''[[The Fiddler of Florence]]'' (1926) - Renée
*''Liebe'' (1927) - Herzogin von Langeais
*''[[Doña Juana (film)|Doña Juana]]'' (1928) - Doña Juana
*''[[Fräulein Else (1929 film)|Fräulein Else]]'' (1929) - Else Thalhof
*''[[Ariane (film)|Ariane]]'' (1931) - Ariane Kusnetzowa
*''[[Dreaming Lips (1932 film)|Dreaming Lips]]'' (1932) - Gaby
*''[[The Rise of Catherine the Great]]'' (1934) - Catherine
*''[[Escape Me Never (1935 film)|Escape Me Never]]'' (1935) - Gemma Jones
*''[[As You Like It (1936 film)|As You Like It]]'' (1936) - Rosalind
*''[[Dreaming Lips (1937 film)|Dreaming Lips]]'' (1937) - Gaby Lawrence
*''[[Stolen Life (1939 film)|Stolen Life]]'' (1939) - Sylvina Lawrence / Martina Lawrence
*''[[49th Parallel (film)|49th Parallel]]'' (1941) - Anna (replaced by Glynis Johns) (scenes deleted)
*''[[Paris Calling]]'' (1941) - Marianne Jannetier
*''[[The Happy Years of the Thorwalds]]'' (1962) - Frau Thorwald
*''[[Cry of the Banshee]]'' (1970) - Oona
*''[[Strogoff]]'' (1970) - Marfa Strogoff
*''[[The Pedestrian (film)|The Pedestrian]]'' (1973) - Frau Lilienthal
*''{{ill|The Pentecost Outing|de|Der Pfingstausflug}}'' (1978) - Margarete Johannsen
*''[[High Society Limited]]'' (1982) - Else
{{div col end}}

==See also==
*[[List of German-speaking Academy Award winners and nominees]]
*[[List of actors with Academy Award nominations]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{IMDb name|74949}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*[http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=662 Virtual History – Tobacco cards]
*[http://www.xs4all.nl/~androom/biography/p013553.htm Elisabeth Bergner profile at Androom Archives]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergner, Elisabeth}}
[[Category:1897 births]]
[[Category:1986 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century British actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century German actresses]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:German stage actresses]]
[[Category:German film actresses]]
[[Category:German silent film actresses]]
[[Category:Jewish German actresses]]
[[Category:Best Actress German Film Award winners]]
[[Category:Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe)]]
[[Category:People from Drohobych]]
[[Category:Austrian emigrants to Germany]]
[[Category:Jews who immigrated to the United Kingdom to escape Nazism]]
[[Category:British people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Ukrainian emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom]]