Jana von Lahnstein


Jana von Lahnstein is a fictional character in the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe. The character was played by the actress Friederike Sipp from 1 October 2002 to 21 March 2005. The character was recast with Vanessa Jung, who played the role from 23 March 2005 to 20 February 2008.

Character's background

Shy and good-hearted, Jana Brandner arrives with her siblings Robin and Nico von Lahnstein in October 2002 and hopes to find a new home with Arno Brandner, their uncle. Her father Achim left the family when she was young and Jana had to grow up in foster homes.
After a few days, Jana falls in love with Andi Fritzsche, but he is in a relationship with Franziska von Beyenbach. After a fire, the drunk Andi kisses Jana and she reciprocates. Jana has a guilty conscience about the kiss and tells Franziska the truth. She cannot believe that and breaks up with Andi. Jana hopes that she and Andi will have a future, when he is over his relationship with Franziska. Nico cannot stand Andi and does not want him involved with Jana. But Jana cannot hide her feelings any longer and tells Andi how she feels about him. In the beginning, Andi does not know how to react, but then he realizes that he is in love with her too. Andi tells Jana that he loves her, and they begin a relationship.
In 2007, Jana begins a passionate affair with her good friend Leonard von Lahnstein. She falls madly in love with him and they later marry in a beautiful ceremony. However, she soon realizes that he is still in love with Sarah Hofmann, who he once believed was his half-sister. Leonard and Sarah have a one-night stand, which Jana discovers, but decides to forgive them.
Leonard and Jana decide to make a fresh start in Chicago. On the day of their leaving party, Sarah begs Leonard not to leave her. Jana overhears their conversation and confronts Sarah. They have a heated argument and a furious Jana gets in her car to drive and Sarah gets in with her. Jana loses control of the car and they have a terrible accident. A short time after this, Jana suffers a pulmonary embolism and dies in the hospital with Leonard and Sarah by her side. All of Jana's loved ones are heartbroken over her death, particularly Nico.
The von Lahnsteins set up The Jana von Lahnstein Foundation in her honor.