Known from “The Half Strong”: Film star Karin Baal died at the age of 84

Germany is saying goodbye to one of the last great film divas of the post-war period. With her role in the youth drama “Die Halbstarken” in 1956, Karin Baal (1940-2024) became an overnight star alongside Horst Buchholz (1933-2003) – and a role model for many young people. Now she died after an eventful life at the age of 84.

As Therese Lohner (57) and Thomas Gaffkus (64), the actress’s two children, told the German Press Agency, Baal left the big stage last Tuesday. They conveyed the sad message with moving words: “She has shaped a generation and will remain unforgotten. She tears a huge hole – not only in our family, but in Berlin and all of Germany.”

When Karin Baal became a star through her role in “Die Halbstarken”, she was still a teenager. The very young actress was selected from around 700 applicants for the film drama, which was based on US role models such as “… because they don’t know what they are doing” (1955, with James Dean in the leading role).

At that time she had no acting experience, but with her striking cat eyes and a daring aura, she had a face that perfectly fit the zeitgeist of the time. In order to make her appear more professional on the big screen, her role as the rebellious sissy was dubbed again by her older colleague Brigitte Grothum (89) after filming was completed.

After this early breakthrough, Karin Baal was committed to the role of the disreputable seductress for a long time, such as in the scandalous film “The Girl Rosemarie” from 1958. After completing professional acting training, she appeared in a number of films by the popular Edgar Wallace film series, and star director Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945-1982) was also enthusiastic about the character actress and hired her for productions such as “Berlin Alexanderplatz” (1980), “Lili Marleen” (1981) and “Lola” (1981). For many of her fans, she was considered the “German answer to Brigitte Bardot.”

In later years, Karin Baal increasingly focused on roles in TV series such as “Liebling Kreuzberg” or “Die Schwarzwaldklinik”, and she was also seen in several episodes of “Tatort”. Baal’s last years of life were marked by illness and also by financial problems. She said a few years ago: “I never paid into my pension. I wanted to live and have fun. Everything else didn’t matter. When I think about it, I could be a wealthy woman today – if I had done everything right.”