Leonie Benesch

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Leonie Benesch
Benesch at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2023
Born (1991-04-22) 22 April 1991 (age 33)
Hamburg, Germany
Alma materGuildhall School of Music and Drama
OccupationActress

Leonie Benesch (born 22 April 1991)[1] is a German actress. She has played roles in various film and TV productions including Babylon Berlin, The Crown, Around the World in 80 Days and The Teachers' Lounge. For her role in the latter, in 2023, she received the award for Best Performance in a Leading Role at the German Film Awards.

Biography[edit]

In 2009, Benesch played the role of Eva in the film The White Ribbon, which won the Golden Palm. Film critics singled out her performance as "a discovery".[2] She received the American "Young Artist Award" for her work,[3] as well as a "New Faces Award". In 2010, she performed in Philip Koch's drama Picco and in Sophie Heldman's film Colors in the Dark [de] (Satte Farben vor Schwarz), where she worked alongside Senta Berger and Bruno Ganz.

In 2017, Benesch performed in Babylon Berlin as Greta Overbeck, winning the "German Acting Prize". Benesch also performed in The Crown as the sister of Prince Philip, Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark. In 2020, she was cast in the BBC miniseries Around the World in 80 Days, alongside David Tennant as Phileas Fogg [4] and Ibrahim Koma as Passepartout.

In 2023, she won the German Film Award for her leading role as an idealistic teacher (Carla Nowak) in the German drama The Teachers’ Lounge, cowritten and directed by İlker Çatak, in the category Best Female Leading Role. She was also nominated for the European Film Award,[5] while a year later, the film received an Oscar nomination for Best International Film.[6] Commenting on the success of the film in an interview, Benesch told GoldDerby, "the film was finished for nine months and nobody wanted to buy it. All the distributors said they didn’t see any international potential. It’s too small, it’s too much text, it’s too German. When we had our premiere in Ireland there was a buzz and we got sold out across the globe. It was a complete surprise!" [7]

Personal life[edit]

Benesch grew up in Tübingen[8] as the oldest of four children,[9] and attended the Freie Waldorfschule[10] and the Rudolf-Steiner-Schule in Bielefeld-Schildesche [de].[11] She also attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Film Role Notes
2007 Beautiful Bitch Gitti
2009 The White Ribbon Eva
2010 Picco Kevin's Girlfriend
Colors in the Dark Yvonne
2011 Was uns zusteht Kerstin Short
2012 Morgenröte Lynn Short
2013 Brüderlein Teresa
George Margot Hanke TV film
Das Jerusalem-Syndrom Maria Gärtner TV film
2014 High Tide Is Dead on Time Mia Halbach TV film
Die Frauen der Wikinger - Odins Töchter Jova TV film
2015 8 Seconds Helen
2019 Brecht Elisabeth Hauptmann
2020 Phoenix Jenny Short
Persian Lessons Elsa
Der Überläufer Hildegard Roth
2023 The Teachers' Lounge Carla Nowak

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2012 Cologne P.D. Nadia Winkowski Episode: "Zeugin in Angst"
Der Kriminalist Clarissa von Tannenhof Episode: "Blaues Blut"
2013 Tatort Julia Episode: "Freunde bis in den Tod"
2017 Howards End Frieda Mosenbach 1 episode
2017, 2019 The Crown Princess Cecilie 3 episodes
2017–2020 Babylon Berlin Greta Overbeck Series regular
2018 Counterpart Sofia 2 episodes
Morden im Norden Gaby Zinke Episode: "Jäger und Sammler"
2019 Holiday Secrets Lara Series regular
2019 The Master Butcher Eva Series regular
2020 Spy City Eliza Hahn Series regular
2021 Around the World in 80 Days Abigail "Fix" Fortescue Main role
2023 The Swarm Charlie Wagner Main role

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2010 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in an International Feature Film - Leading Young Performer (with Leonard Proxauf) The White Ribbon Won
New Faces Awards Best Actress Won
2014 Günter Strack TV Awards Best Young Actress Tatort - Episode:Freunde bis in den Tod Nominated
2018 German Screen Actors Awards Best Supporting Actress Babylon Berlin Won
2023 Shooting Stars Awards EFP Shooting Star - Actresses — Won
European Film Awards Best Actress The Teachers' Lounge Nominated
German Film Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role The Teachers' Lounge Won

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Film-Talent Leonie Benesch "Ich hatte einfach extrem Angst, dass ich abhebe"". reutlingen.ihk.de. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
  2. ^ "Eine Entdeckung": Filmfestspiele Cannes: Hanekes tödliches Geheimnis in: Die Presse vom 21. Mai 2009
  3. ^ "Wega film vienna | Kino | DAS WEISSE BAND - eine deutsche Kindergeschichte".
  4. ^ "'Around the World in 80 Days' to Restart Production in Romania, South Africa (EXCLUSIVE)". 25 September 2020.
  5. ^ "With The Teachers' Lounge, Leonie Benesch Prepares for Global Stardom on Her Own Terms". Vanity Fair. 2023-12-28. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  6. ^ Verhoeven, Beatrice (2024-02-16). "'The Teachers' Lounge' Director on His Oscar-Nominated Satire: "Children Can be Angels – But Also Little A**holes"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  7. ^ Beachum, Chris (2023-12-08). "Leonie Benesch interview: 'The Teachers' Lounge'". GoldDerby. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  8. ^ Leonie Benesch Archived 2017-09-09 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ "Leonie Benesch interview: 'The Teachers' Lounge'". goldderby.com. Dec 8, 2023. Retrieved 17 Feb 2024. I'm the oldest of four, I know what it's like to be around kids.
  10. ^ Leonie Benesch: Genau diese Naivität, die Eva hat. In: Die Presse, 19. September 2009
  11. ^ Stefan Biestmann. "Zeitreise in das Amerika der 20er Jahre" (in German). Retrieved 2022-11-18.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leonie Benesch.
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