Barbara Sukowa is a multi-award German actor known for the masterpiece mini-series Berlin Alexanderplatz and the moody film drama Lola, for which she won critical kudos portraying a cynical, manipulative singer/hooker who sets her sights on an unsuspecting town politician played by Armin Mueller-Stahl, Marianne & Juliane, for which Barbara won both the Venice Film Festival and German Film awards, Rosa Luxemburg (1986), Lars von Trier's Europa, brought Barbara to the attention of Hollywood. Although not well known here by name, this fascinating figure has added her exotic allure to a number of American films including The Sicilian, M. Butterfly, Johnny Mnemonic, Cradle Will Rock and the just-completed Romance & Cigarettes, which was written and directed by John Turturro. Barbara started up a second career as a concert vocalist in recent years, performing works by such classical composers as Arnold Schönberg, among others.
