Christiane Hörbiger # 2023

She was the grande dame of the Austrian acting guard. Whether in film, television or on stage, Christiane Hörbiger managed to be loved by everyone. She was a crowd favorite for decades.

The daughter of the Austrian actors Paula Wessely and Attila Hörbiger impressed audience in the “Danube Stories”, “Schtonk”, “The Legacy of the Guldenburgs” and “The Visit of the Old Lady”. She was in the successful series “Julia – an unusual woman” no less than 65 times. From 1969 to 1972 she was the prostitute in Salzburg’s “Everyman”, then Marie in William Shakespeare’s “What You Want”, and Flora in Johann Nepomuk Nestroy’s “Talisman”, the Genia Hofreiter in Arthur Schnitzler’s “The Wide Land”.

She had a permanent engagement at the Zurich Theater from 1967 to 1985, playing Elisabeth in Friedrich Schiller's "Maria Stuart", Dorine in Molière's "Tartuffe", Arkadina in Chekhov's "The Seagull", the Old Woman in Eugène Ionesco's "The Chairs", Alice in August Strindberg's “Dance of Death”. Her life is the Austrian theater, film and TV history.

In archive interviews, Christiane Hörbiger talks about her difficult start as an actress in the shadow of her famous parents, the painful handling of criticism and the highlights of her career. Her sister Maresa Hörbiger gives a look at the private side of the Hörbiger family. She recapitulates how her parents dealt with their controversial role in National Socialism and how their daughters had to wrestle with this legacy.

Companions and stars from the film business such as Xaver Schwarzenberger report on the life and work of one of the greatest actresses in the Austrian history. Christiane Hörbiger died on November 30, 2022 in her hometown Vienna.