In 1977 she followed her former partner and dissident singer-songwriter Wolf Biermann to Hamburg. The mother of Nina Hagen and grandma of Cosma Shiva and Otis has now also died in the northern German city. According to management, actress, singer and author Eva-Maria Hagen passed away on Tuesday, August 16 at the age of 87.
The family publication says: “On August 16, 2022, our beloved Eva-Maria Hagen left this earthly world and preceded us to our eternal home. We mourn with longing, love and gratitude. Nina, Cosma and Otis Hagen – as well as all her friends, companions.”
Eva Maria Hagen led a turbulent life
Eva Maria Hagen was born in 1934 and was the daughter of an East Brandenburg farm worker who was expelled from Poland to Brandenburg with his family after the Second World War. Eva-Maria first learned the trade of machine fitter before she reoriented herself and devoted herself to acting. Her breakthrough came in 1953 with Bertolt Brecht conducting the Berliner Ensemble in the piece Katzgraben. She often played blondes with large busts, although she actually had dark hair. This gave her the nickname “Brigitte Bardot of the GDR”. Until 1965 she acted in around 50 TV and cinema films.
A major turning point in her life was her former partner Wolf Biermann, with whom she was a couple from 1965 to 1972. Six months after meeting Hagen, the singer was banned from performing and publishing in the GDR. Because Hagen stood behind Biermann and increasingly rebelled and protested against the ban on performing, she too was caught in the government’s line of fire. It even went as far as a lawsuit for defamation of the state. After that, her acting engagements took place primarily in provincial theaters. Biermann was expatriated from the GDR in 1976, Hagen again protested so much that she also lost her citizenship in 1977. The actress then moved to the Federal Republic of Germany together with her daughter Nina Hagen, who comes from a previous marriage to Hans Oliva-Hagen.
Source: Stern
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