Elisabeth Bergner (August 22, 1897 – May 12, 1986) was a highly acclaimed Austrian-British stage and film actress who became one of Europe’s most celebrated theatrical stars during the 1920s and 1930s. Renowned for her expressive, deeply sensitive acting style and her signature androgynous “trouser roles” (Hosenrollen), she achieved substantial international success before being forced to flee continental Europe due to her Jewish heritage.
She achieved breakout international fame in Berlin under the legendary director Max Reinhardt. She was widely praised for her lead performance in George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan (1924). Her signature role was Gemma Jones in Escape Me Never. After originating the character on stages in London and Broadway, she starred in the 1935 film adaptation and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
She played the title character in The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934) and starred as Rosalind in As You Like It (1936) alongside a young Laurence Olivier. Her talent inspired prominent writers of her time. Notably, Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie wrote his final play, The Boy David (1936), specifically for her.
Following the rise of the Nazi regime in 1933, Bergner and her husband, the prominent Czech film director Paul Czinner, left Germany and resettled in London. Beyond her artistry, historical records compiled by the Jewish Women’s Archive note that she actively used her resources to help other Jewish actors escape Nazi Germany.
She spent the World War II years working on Broadway and in American cinema before returning to Europe. In her later years, she traveled back to Germany and Austria for various theatrical tours, eventually earning the prestigious Schiller Prize in 1963 for her immense contributions to German cultural life. She continued acting into the 1980s and passed away in London at the age of 88.
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