Olga Wohlbrück

Olga Wohlbrück (5 July 1867 – 20 July 1933) was an Austrian-German actress, director, and writer. She is considered the first female director in Germany.[1]

Olga Wohlbrück
Born	5 July 1867 Gainfarn, Austria-Hungary
Died	20 July 1933 (aged 66) Berlin, Nazi Germany
Occupation	Actress, director, writer
Spouse(s)	Maximilian Bern (divorced) Leo Feld (divorced) Waldemar Wendland
Relatives	Anton Walbrook (cousin)

Biography

Olga Wohlbrück was born in Austria in 1867 to Max and Olga Wohlbrück; her parents both came from acting families. She spent much of her childhood in Russia before moving to Germany and studying acting from her maternal grandmother.

She established a flourishing literary career for herself, producing novels, short stories, and plays while continuing to work as an actress in Berlin. In 1913, with the release of To Give a Girl Away (Ein Mädchen zu Verschenken), she became Germany's first female director.[2] She wrote other scripts over the years, but that was her sole directorial effort.

She was married three times: first to writer Maximilian Bern, second to author Leo Feld, and third to composer Waldemar Wendland,[3] and was related to Austrian actor Anton Walbrook (her second cousin).[4]

Selected filmography

• To Give a Girl Away (1913, script and direction)
• The Golden Belt (1913, script)

References

1. Mahar, Karen Ward (2008-08-25). Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood. JHU Press. ISBN 9780801890840.
2. "Ein Mädchen zu verschenken | filmportal.de". www.filmportal.de. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
3. International Who's who in Music and Musical Gazetteer: A Contemporary Biographical Dictionary and a Record of the World's Musical Activity. Current Literature Publishing Company. 1918. p. 681. Olga Wohlbrück germany director.
4. "Anton Walbrook at The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum". www.bdcmuseum.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-01-19.