Martina Gedeck Biography: Movies, Husband, Parents, Awards, Religion, Net Worth, Height, Ethnicity

Martina Gedeck is a German actress. She achieved international attention with her leading performance in the film Mostly Martha (2001), in which she portrayed a driven chef whose life is upended by personal responsibility and emotional reckoning.

Her role as Christa-Maria Sieland in The Lives of Others (2006) further elevated her profile globally.

Profile

• Full name: Martina Friederike Gedeck
• Date of birth: 14 September 1961
• Age: 64 years old
• Gender: Female
• Place of birth: Munich, Bavaria, West Germany
• Nationality: German
• Profession: Actress
• Height: 1.75 m (5′9″)
• Eye color: Hazel
• Hair color: Blonde
• Parents: Father – Karl-Heinz Gedeck; Mother – Helga Gedeck
• Siblings: Two younger sisters (Gedeck is the eldest of three daughters)
• Spouse: N/A
• Children: N/A
• Relationship status: In a long-term partnership with Markus Imboden (since 2005)
• Religion: Jewish
• Ethnicity: German
• Net worth: $5 million

Early Life and Education

Martina Gedeck was born on 14 September 1961 in Munich, Bavaria. She is now 64 years old. She grew up as the eldest of three daughters, with her father, Karl-Heinz Gedeck, working as a merchant, and her mother, Helga Gedeck, as a secretary.

Early childhood was spent in Bavaria, before the family moved to West Berlin in 1971, when she was about ten years old.

During her school years she spent an exchange year in New Jersey, USA (in 1977/78) at Glen Rock High School, where she took part in a theatre course and performed in a Turgenev piece.

After passing her Abitur (school leaving certificate) at the Schadow-Oberschule in Berlin in 1981, she began studying German literature and history at the Free University of Berlin, though she soon shifted focus to acting.

From 1982 until 1986 she attended acting classes at the Berlin University of the Arts (Universität der Künste Berlin / formerly Hochschule der Künste) where she also trained theatrical skills.

Personal Life

Martina Gedeck was in a long-term relationship with German actor Ulrich Wildgruber from 1991 until his death in 1999. Since about 2005 she has been in a partnership with Swiss film director Markus Imboden; they live together in Berlin and have worked on several productions together.

Career

Martina Gedeck’s professional acting career extends from stage to screen, with the theatre forming a key foundation for her early work. While still studying acting, she made a theatre debut around 1985 at the Theater am Turm in Frankfurt in Janusz Glowacki’s Aschenkinder.

Her screen career began in the late 1980s with roles such as in the TV drama Die Beute (1988) and the feature film Tiger, Löwe, Panther (1989) directed by Dominik Graf.

Over the 1990s she built a strong reputation in German film and television, with notable early roles including Der bewegte Mann (1994) and Das Leben ist eine Baustelle (1997).

Her international breakthrough came with Mostly Martha (2001) where she played chef Martha Klein. Her performance earned her critical acclaim and major German film awards.

In 2006 she starred in The Lives of Others as Christa-Maria Sieland, a role that aligned her with globally recognized cinema and brought her further recognition.

Since then she has appeared in a broad range of projects, from German and European productions to international co-productions, covering genres from drama to historical thrillers to television series.

Awards and Nominations

• 1997 – Deutscher Filmpreis (German Film Award) for Best Supporting Actress for Rossini and Das Leben ist eine Baustelle
• 2002 – Deutscher Filmpreis for Best Actress for Mostly Martha
• 2003 – Goldene Kamera for Best Actress (Germany)
• 2007 – Nastro d’Argento Europeo (Italy) for Best Actress for The Lives of Others
• 2015 – Goldene Kamera: Best German Actress
• 2022 – Deutscher Hörbuchpreis: Best Interpreter (for audiobook work)

Net Worth

Martina Gedeck’s net worth is estimated at $5 million. Earned from her longstanding career in acclaimed German and international films, extensive filmography, and participation in major productions.

Social Media

• Instagram: @martina.gedeck

Filmography

• Tiger, Löwe, Panther (1989)
• Hard Days, Hard Nights (1989)
• Der bewegte Mann (1994)
• Talk of the Town (1995)
• Life is All You Get (1997)
• Jew-Boy Levi (1999)
• The Green Desert (1999)
• Mostly Martha (2001)
• Atomised (2006)
• The Lives of Others (2006)
• The Perfect Friend (2006)
• Summer ’04 (2006)
• The Good Shepherd (2006)
• Geliebte Clara (2008)
• The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
• Bets and Wedding Dresses (2009)
• Jew Suss: Rise and Fall (2010)
• The Wall (2012)
• The Door (2012)
• The Nun (2013)
• Night Train to Lisbon (2013)
• The Girl King (2015)
• I’m Off Then (2015)
• Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank (2016)
• Original Bliss (2016)
• Wunderschön (2022)
• Dark Satellites (2022)