A legend even at a young age German film star Karin Baal dies

The actress Karin Baal is dead. She died on Tuesday at the age of 84.

The movie "Die Halbstarken" made her a legend at a young age: The actress Karin Baal is dead. She died in Berlin on Tuesday at the age of 84, her children told the German Press Agency. "She shaped a generation and will remain unforgotten. She tore a huge hole - not only in our family, but in Berlin and the whole of Germany," said Therese Lohner and Thomas Baal, the actress's children, on Saturday.

Baal became famous in the 1950s with "Die Halbstarken". The black-and-white film tells the story of several young people in post-war Berlin, their living conditions and criminal machinations.

When Baal was hired for the film, she was still a teenager herself. She was born in Berlin in 1940 and later began training as a fashion illustrator. Among hundreds of applicants, she was finally hired for "Die Halbstarken", which also starred Horst Buchholz. Baal took on the leading female role of Sissy.

The film became a classic of German post-war cinema - and Baal was later celebrated as the German answer to Brigitte Bardot.

Appearances in Edgar Wallace films and in "Berlin Alexanderplatz"

She went on to appear in a number of films and series. These include "Das Mädchen Rosemarie", "Wir Kellerkinder" and "Die junge Sünderin".

She also appeared in Edgar Wallace films and in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's "Berlin Alexanderplatz". She also had roles in series such as "Liebling Kreuzberg" and "Schwarzwaldklinik". She has also often appeared in TV crime dramas such as "Tatort".

In 2018, Baal was honored for her life's work with the inaugural Götz George Award. At the time, the Götz George Foundation praised Baal as a "great actress and admirable woman". She opens up to her characters relentlessly and with touching dedication, making even the finest nuances of her wide range of emotions visible, they said at the time.

Pictures from recent years have shown Baal in a wheelchair. But even though she repeatedly thought about moving to Vienna to be with her daughter in her old age, the actress lived in Berlin until the end, as her daughter Therese Lohner said. "She loved Berlin too much and absolutely wanted to stay in her beloved Charlottenburg."

SDA