Nina Hoss


Nina Hoss is a German stage, film, and television actress. She is known for her collaborations with director Christian Petzold in films such as Barbara and Phoenix. Her roles in other films include The White Masai, Pelican Blood, and Tár. She has also starred in the American TV series Homeland, The Defeated, and Jack Ryan.
Hoss received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and was also appointed a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France.

Early life and education

Hoss was born in Stuttgart, West Germany, in 1975. Her father,, was a German trade unionist and politician. Her mother,, was an actress at Stuttgart National Theatre and later director of the Esslingen-based Württemberg State Playhouse.
Hoss acted in radio plays at the age of seven, and appeared on stage for the first time at the age of 14.
In 1997, Hoss graduated from the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin, where she studied alongside Lars Eidinger, Fritzi Haberlandt, Devid Striesow, and Mark Waschke.

Career

Hoss' first major success was the title role Rosemarie Nitribitt of Bernd Eichinger's A Girl Called Rosemary in 1996, a period drama set in the 1950s that looks back at the days of West Germany's postwar Wirtschaftswunder, with what a New York Times review calls a "curdling cynicism".
In 2000, Hoss was one of the Shooting Stars at the Berlinale. Her close collaboration with director Christian Petzold has been extremely successful; she won the 2003 Adolf Grimme Award for her role in his film Something to Remind Me and two years later the Adolf Grimme Award in Gold for Wolfsburg. Her performance of Yella, earned her the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2007 and the German Film Award in 2008. Another collaboration with Petzold, Barbara, in which Hoss plays a doctor exiled to an East German provincial backwater in 1980, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011 and the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012.
She later made her name in Hollywood playing a German BND agent in three seasons of the series Homeland. Hoss starred in the 2020 miniseries The Defeated, and was a series regular in season three of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan in 2022.
As a stage actress, Hoss was an ensemble member at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin from 1998 to 2013, where she appeared as Medea and as Franziska in Minna von Barnhelm. In 2013, she joined the ensemble of the Schaubühne theatre in Berlin. There, she starred in three productions by director Thomas Ostermeier, including Lillian Hellman's 'Little Foxes' and the world premiere of Yasmina Reza's Bella Figura. In his stage production of Didier Eribon's book Returning to Reims, her starring role drew autobiographically from her relationship with her father and his activist politics.
Hoss recorded a duet with the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers called "Europa geht durch mich" for the album Futurology, which was released on 7 July 2014. Hoss features on the 2021 album Bright Magic by Public Service Broadcasting.
She stars in Todd Field's Tár alongside Cate Blanchett as Sharon Goodnow, a violin player who is the partner of conductor Lydia Tár. In the film, Hoss plays the concertmaster of an orchestra. In 2025, Hoss starred as Eileen Lovborg in Nia DaCosta's Hedda, for which she received critical praise for her performance.

Other activities

Hoss was a jury member of the German Film Academy's First Steps awards for young filmmakers in 2000. She was a member of the juries of the Locarno International Film Festival in 2009, the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011, and the 73rd Venice International Film Festival in 2016.
She served as the sole judge of the 2012 Alfred Kerr Acting Prize at the Berliner Theatertreffen.
In 2018, she was part of the jury that awarded the first-ever Wortmeldungen Prize for Literature of the Crespo Foundation.

Social and political commitment

Hoss supports the Make Poverty History campaign and fights female genital mutilation. In continuation of the work of her father she is committed as a goodwill ambassador of the state of Pará in Brazil against the destruction of the rain forest and to improve the living conditions of the indigenous people living there.
In 2017, she joined Cate Blanchett, Lars von Trier, and others, in signing a petition in support of Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov and against a crackdown on artistic expression in Russia.
Hoss served as an Alliance 90/The Greens delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2004 and 2010.

Recognition and honours

Hoss has received numerous state honours, including the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. She was appointed a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France.
In August 2019 Hoss was invited to be a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
She has received glowing reviews by American critics for her performances in films.

Personal life

Hoss married British music producer Alex Silva in 2015 after having been in a relationship with him for 12 years.

Filmography

Film awards and nominations

Hoss has won or been nominated for many awards, including:
  • 2019 – Douglas Sirk Award at the Filmfest Hamburg
  • 2023 – Barbara International Film Festival">Barbara (2012 film)">Barbara International Film Festival - Virtuosos Award, for Tár; recognising "noteworthy performances in films which have elevated them into the national cinematic dialogue"
YearNominated workAwardCategoryResultsRef
1997A Girl Called RosemarieGoldene Kamera awardsLilli Palmer Memorial CameraWon
1999The Volcano Montreal World Film FestivalBest ActressWon
2000Berlin International Film FestivalShooting Stars Award by European Film PromotionWon
2002Toter MannGerman Television AwardsBest Actress in a Movie Made for TelevisionNomitated
2004WolfsburgGerman Film AwardsBest Performance by an Actress in a Leading RoleNomitated
2004WolfsburgGerman Television AwardsBest Actress in a Movie Made for TelevisionNomitated
2006The White MasaiBavarian Film AwardsBest Actress Won
2007YellaBambi AwardsBest Actress - NationalNomitated
2007YellaBerlin International Film FestivalSilver Bear for Best ActressWon
2007YellaGerman Film AwardsBest Performance by an Actress in a Leading RoleWon
2008YellaJupiter AwardBest German ActressWon
2012BarbaraCapri Hollywood Film FestivalBest ActressWon
2012BarbaraDublin Film Critics Circle AwardsBest ActressNomitated
2012BarbaraEuropean Film AwardsBest ActressNomitated
2012BarbaraIndiewire Critics' PollBest ActressNomitated
2012BarbaraVillage Voice Film PollBest ActressNomitated
2013BarbaraGerman Film Critics Association AwardsBest Actress Nomitated
2013BarbaraInternational Cinephile Society AwardsBest ActressNomitated
2014Fenster zum SommerJupiter AwardsBest German TV ActressNomitated
2015PhoenixDublin Film Critics Circle AwardsBest ActressNomitated
2015PhoenixGerman Film AwardsBest Performance by an Actress in a Leading RoleNomitated
2015PhoenixIndiewire Critics' PollBest Lead ActressNomitated
2015PhoenixJupiter AwardBest German ActressNomitated
2015PhoenixMons International Festival of Love FilmsBest ActressWon
2015PhoenixSeattle International Film FestivalBest ActressWon
2015PhoenixToronto Film Critics Association AwardsBest ActressWon
2015PhoenixVillage Voice Film PollBest ActressNomitated
2016PhoenixChlotrudis AwardsBest ActressNomitated
2016PhoenixInternational Cinephile Society AwardsBest ActressNomitated
2016PhoenixNational Society of Film Critics AwardsBest ActressNomitated
2016PhoenixSeattle Film Critics AwardsBest ActressWon
2016HomelandScreen Actors Guild AwardsOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama SeriesNomitated
2019The AuditionSan Sebastián International Film FestivalSilver Shell for Best ActressWon
2019The AuditionStockholm Film FestivalBest ActressWon
2020The AuditionDías de Cine AwardsBest Foreign ActressNomitated
2020Pelican BloodGuenter Rohrbach FilmpreisBest Female ActorWon
2020My Little SisterEuropean Film AwardsBest ActressNomitated
2020My Little SisterGerman Screen Actors AwardsBest Leading Actress Nomitated
2021My Little SisterFestival del Cinema EuropeoBest European ActorWon
2021The AuditionGerman Film Critics Association AwardsBest Actress Won
2021Pelican BloodGerman Film Critics Association AwardsBest Actress Won
2022TárFlorida Film Critics CircleBest Supporting ActressWon
2022TárGotham Independent Film AwardsOutstanding Supporting PerformanceNomitated
2023TárDorian AwardsSupporting Film Performance of the YearNomitated
2023TárIndependent Spirit AwardsBest Supporting PerformanceNomitated
2023TárLondon Film Critics' CircleLondon Film Critics' Circle [Award for Supporting Actress of the Year|Supporting Actress of the Year]
2023TárMinnesota Film Critics AllianceBest Supporting ActressNomitated
2023TárNational Society of Film Critics Awards|National Society of Film Critics]Best Supporting Actress
2023TárNorth Dakota Film SocietyBest Supporting ActressNomitated
2023TárSan Diego Film Critics SocietyBest Supporting ActressNomitated
2023TárSan Francisco Bay Area Film Critics CircleBest Supporting ActressNomitated
2025HeddaAlliance of Women Film JournalistsBest Supporting ActressNomitated
2025HeddaAstra Film AwardsBest Supporting Actress - DramaNomitated
2025HeddaChicago Film Critics AssociationBest Supporting ActressNomitated
2025HeddaSan Diego Film Critics SocietyBest Supporting Actress
2025HeddaToronto Film Critics AssociationOutstanding Supporting PerformanceWon
2025HeddaToronto International Film FestivalTIFF Tribute Performance AwardWon
2025HeddaMiddleburg Film FestivalExcellence in Acting AwardWon