Ingrid Rentsch (4 June 1928 – December 2022) was a German stage, film, and television actress. She was active primarily in East German (GDR) theatre, film, and television productions during the mid-20th century.
Early life and career
Rentsch was born on 4 June 1928 in Berlin, Germany. After attending the Hebbel-Theater-Schule, she joined the Rheingau-Theater in Berlin-Wilmersdorf in 1948 under its director Ernst Schröder. She subsequently performed at the Renaissance-Theater Berlin and the Theater Tribüne before joining the Volksbühne Berlin in the mid-1950s. In summer 1967, she became a permanent ensemble member at the Theater der Freundschaft in Berlin.
Film and television
Rentsch made her film debut in 1949 at age 21 with the DEFA production Der Biberpelz (The Beaver Coat), an adaptation of a Gerhart Hauptmann comedy directed by Erich Engel. Two years later, she played the title role in the DEFA film Corinna Schmidt (1951), directed by Arthur Pohl and based on Theodor Fontane's novel Frau Jenny Treibel. She also appeared in the films Professor Nachtfalter (1951), Die Kleinbürger (1968), and Bezauberndes Fräulein (1953).
Beginning in the 1970s, Rentsch increasingly worked as a voice actress (synchronization/dubbing) and took on roles in GDR television, including appearances in the crime series Polizeiruf 110. Her other television credits include Der Staatsanwalt hat das Wort, Die Frauen der Wardins, Zahn um Zahn, and Bebel und Bismarck.
Theatre work
Rentsch had an extensive stage career, performing in productions such as Friedrich Schiller's Don Carlos (1948), Leo Tolstoy's The Power of Darkness (1957) and War and Peace (1963), Jean Anouilh's Medea (1953), William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors (1971), and Molière's Tartuffe (1987). She performed at the Volksbühne Berlin and the Theater der Freundschaft across several decades.
Personal life
Rentsch was married to actor and director Hans-Joachim Martens (1925–2018). She was also the mother of actor Florian Martens, born from a relationship with actor Wolfgang Kieling. Florian Martens also became an actor.
Death
Ingrid Rentsch died in December 2022 at the age of 94, on either 28 or 29 December, in Germany.
Selected filmography
- Der Biberpelz (1949)
- Corinna Schmidt (1951)
- Professor Nachtfalter (1951)
- Bezauberndes Fräulein (1953)
- Glückliche Reise (1954)
- Die Kleinbürger (1968)
- Polizeiruf 110 (various episodes, 1982–1991)
References
- Habel, F.-B. (31 December 2022). "Wie nur sie es konnte." Junge Welt, p. 11.
- Gilman, Sander. Jurek Becker: A Life in Five Worlds. University of Chicago Press, 2003.
