Adriana Altaras


Adriana Altaras is a German actress, theater director and writer, born in Zagreb.
Altaras was born in Zagreb, FPR Yugoslavia to Jewish parents, Thea Altaras and Jakob Altaras. Due to political persecution she escaped Zagreb with her mother to Italy in 1964, in a car driven by her Italian uncle. She stayed with her mother in Italy for a few years, long enough to learn Italian.
From Italy Altaras moved to Konstanz, Germany in 1967. After high school education, Altaras graduated from the Berlin University of the Arts. Altaras completed her academic studies in New York City. She founded the Western Stadthirschen theater in Berlin where she works as an actress, director and writer. In 1982 she made her movie debut, and in 1989 she had a lead role in Der Philosoph, directed by Rudolf Thome. However, the focus of her work remained with the various theater projects. She worked as a theater director at the Berliner Ensemble and Neuköllner Oper in Berlin.
In 1993, Altaras received the Theater Prize of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1998 she received the Deutscher Filmpreis Award. In 1999, she received the 2nd Audience Award Friedrich Luft, Berlin. In 2000, she received a Silver Bear for acting.
Altaras worked with Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation as an interviewer and lecturer. Altaras has two sons with composer Wolfgang Böhmer; Aaron and Leonard Altaras.

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