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Hanna Schygulla (born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer. She is generally considered the most prominent German actress of the New German Cinema. Schygulla was born in Königshütte, Upper Silesia, to German parents Antonie (née Mzyk) and Joseph Schygulla. Her father, a timber merchant by profession, was then drafted as an infantryman in the German Army and was captured by American forces in Italy, subsequently being held as a prisoner of war until 1948. In 1945, Hanna and her mother came as refugees to Munich, after the German majority population of Königshütte... MORE

Hanna Schygulla (born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer. She is generally considered the most prominent German actress of the New German Cinema. Schygulla was born in Königshütte, Upper Silesia, to German parents Antonie (née Mzyk) and Joseph Schygulla. Her father, a timber merchant by profession, was then drafted as an infantryman in the German Army and was captured by American forces in Italy, subsequently being held as a prisoner of war until 1948. In 1945, Hanna and her mother came as refugees to Munich, after the German majority population of Königshütte was expelled by Communist Poland. In the 1960s, Schygulla studied Romance languages and German studies, while taking acting lessons in Munich during her spare time. Acting eventually became her focus, and she became particularly known for her film work with Rainer Werner Fassbinder. During the making of Effi Briest (1974), an adaptation of a classic German novel, Fassbinder and Schygulla fell out over divergent interpretations of the character. Also a problem for Schygulla was low pay, and she led a revolt against Fassbinder on this issue during the making of Effi Briest. Fassbinder's response was LESS