Lotte Ledl


Lotte Ledl was an Austrian actress, remembered as a character actress who performed on stage, in film and in television.
Early in her career, Ledl focused on the stage, appearing at the Vienna Burgtheater and festivals in Austria and Germany. She later performed in popular series such as Derrick and Der Alte, and became especially well-known for her role as a cook in the series Schlosshotel Orth. She acted well into her later years and was awarded the title Kammerschauspielerin at age 89.

Life and career

Ledl was born in Vienna on 16 March 1930. She trained dancing from age five. After graduating from high school, Ledl attended the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna from 1949 to 1951 and made her debut as Helena in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in Strobl. She then performed at the Volkstheater from 1952 onward, later at the Theater am Parkring and the Residenztheater in Munich. In 1963, she became a member of the Burgtheater. She performed in Austrian classical plays by Nestroy and Schnitzler, among others, and plays by Goldoni, Lessing and Brecht. She also performed at festivals such as the Ruhrfestspiele, Bregenzer Festspiele, and the Salzburg Festival, and in international productions in Paris and Helsinki.
Ledl appeared in numerous film roles from the mid-1950s onwards. She first starred in Austrian and German Heimatfilm such as Dort oben, wo die Alpen glühen, Holiday am Wörthersee and Der Jungfrauenkrieg. She rarely played clearly lovable characters, but portrayed the jealous rival, the simple-minded maid, the difficult wife, and the spiteful neighbor. In 1962, Ledl appeared in the German film Street of Temptation, alongside Mario Adorf and Karin Baal, followed by a role in Helmuth M. Backhaus's comedy picture Apartmentzauber the following year. In 1964 she starred opposite Peter Alexander, Rudolf Prack and Gunther Philipp in Wolfgang Liebeneiner's comedy Schweik's Awkward Years. In Volker Schlöndorff's literature film Der junge Törless, she played the role of an innkeeper.
Starting in the 1960s, Ledl also appeared in numerous television plays and series, then appearing from the 1970s in popular crime drama series such as Derrick, Der Alte, Tatort, Kommissar Rex and Schnell ermittelt.
In 1994 she played a teacher in the series Tafelspitz.
Her last major role in a series was that of cook Anna Kofler in the series Schlosshotel Orth, which made her widely popular. In 2011 she appeared as the goddess Fortuna in "Lumpazivagabundus" at the Theater in der Josefstadt. She played the role of Mrs. Higgins in My Fair Lady at the Vienna Volksoper from 2012 to 2017, and appeared in Berndorf in a version of Miguel Mihura's comedy in 2019.
In 1994 Ledl initiated the founding of a drama school, Performing Center Austria, where she taught and served on the board until 2014. She also taught at the studio of the Theater an der Wien and the Konservatorium Wien.
In 2019, she was awarded the title. In his speech at the award ceremony in Vienna,, the director of the Munich Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, described her as one of the actors who shaped his career by the way she played the "life lived". Presenting the certificate, named her a "companion in art" and an "unmistakable character actress". She responded that she was glad to be one of the youngest actresses granted this distinction.

Personal life

Ledl was married to the cinematographer Sepp Riff, who died in 2000. They had a son. After the death of her husband, she married the Kammersänger.
Ledl died on 5 October 2025, at the age of 95.

Awards

  • 2003
  • 2019

    Films and television

Ledl appeared in films, television films including series, and as a voice actress:
  • 1954: Der Förster vom Silberwald, as Vroni
  • 1956: ' as Anna Edelhofer
  • 1956: Försterliesel, as Zenzi
  • 1956: '
  • 1957: Der Jungfrauenkrieg
  • 1958: Ein Lied geht um die Welt
  • 1959: '
  • 1960: '
  • 1962: Straße der Verheißung
  • 1963: Apartment-Zauber
  • 1963: Liliom
  • 1964: Schwejks Flegeljahre
  • 1965: '
  • 1965: Der junge Törless
  • 1965: Heidi
  • 1967: '
  • 1970: Mein Vater, der Affe und ich
  • 1971: Rudi, benimm dich!
  • 1978: Abendfrieden
  • 1983: Liebe hat ihren Preis
  • 1986: 38 – Auch das war Wien
  • 1987: Superzwölfer
  • 1988: Heiteres Bezirksgericht
  • 1992: '
  • 1996–2006: Schlosshotel Orth
  • 1997: '
  • 1999: '
  • 2001: Der schöne Tod
  • 2007: '
  • 2007: Lissi und der wilde Kaiser
  • 2012: ''Wilma Wabe''