Angelica Domröse (German: [aŋˈɡeːlika ˈdɔmˌʁøːzə]; 4 April 1941 – 15 May 2026) was a German actress, who became famous for her role of Paula in Heiner Carow's film The Legend of Paul and Paula (1973).
Life and career
Angelica Domröse was born in Berlin on 4 April 1941. Her biological father was a prisoner of war from France. After training as a shorthand typist Domröse worked in a state-run foreign trade enterprise in East Germany. In 1958 she was discovered by the director Slatan Dudow during a casting for the film Verwirrung der Liebe (Love's Confusion). She attended the film university Potsdam-Babelsberg in 1961.
In 1966 she joined the Berliner Ensemble, where among other things she performed in Brecht's Dreigroschenoper, Schwejk im zweiten Weltkrieg and Die Tage der Commune, as well as in Helmut Baierl's Frau Flinz. She later worked with the Volksbühne Berlin until 1979, with whom she performed in plays by George Bernard Shaw, William Shakespeare and Peter Hacks. She also worked for the DEFA film studio and Deutscher Fernsehfunk. In 1971, 1973 and 1975 she was nominated television actress of the year, and in 1976 she won the National Prize of East Germany.
In 1980 she left the GDR and moved to West Germany. Domröse died in May 2026, at the age of 85.
Filmography
Love's Confusion, 1959
Papas neue Freundin, 1960, TV film
Vielgeliebtes Sternchen, 1961, TV film
At A French Fireside (1963)
Chronik eines Mordes, 1964–65, DEFA film, based on work by Leonhard Frank
Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt, 1965, DEFA film, based on work by Dieter Noll
Entlassen auf Bewährung, 1965
Ein Lord vom Alexanderplatz, 1967
Wege übers Land, 1968, TV film
Já, spravedlnost, 1968, ČSSR film
Effi Briest, 1969–70, based on the novel by Theodor Fontane
Unterm Birnbaum, based on the novel by Theodor Fontane
Die Legende von Paul und Paula, 1972–73, directed by Heiner Carow
Die Brüder Lautensack, 1972–73, TV film based on the work by Lion Feuchtwanger
Mein lieber Mann und ich, 1975
Daniel Druskat, 1976, TV film
Abschied vom Frieden, 1977, TV film
Bis dass der Tod euch scheidet, 1978, directed by Heiner Carow
The Second Skin, 1981, TV film, directed by Frank Beyer
Don Quixote's Children, 1981
Fleeting Acquaintances, 1982, TV film
Randale, 1983
Fraulein, 1986, TV film, directed by Michael Haneke
The Mistake, 1992, directed by Heiner Carow
Polizeiruf 110 - Kleine Dealer, große Träume, 1996, TV series episode, directed by Urs Odermatt.
Valley of the Innocent, 2003, directed by Branwen Okpako
Fly Away, 2012
Short biography (in German)
DEFA-Sternstunden: Angelica Domröse (in German)