---
name: "Susanne Lothar"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/susanne-lothar"
fi1m_id: "susanne-lothar"
imdb_id: "nm0521443"
tmdb_id: 19123
wikidata_id: "Q76550"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "15 November 1960"
died: "25 July 2012"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-01T21:48:05.015312+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Susanne Lothar

## Identity

Susanne Lothar

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/susanne-lothar
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** susanne-lothar
- **IMDb ID:** nm0521443
- **TMDB ID:** 19123
- **Wikidata ID:** Q76550
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanne_Lothar, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q76550, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0521443/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/19123

Actor. Born 15 November 1960 in Hamburg, Germany. Died 25 July 2012.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 15 November 1960, Hamburg, Germany
- **Died:** 25 July 2012
- **Active:** 1997–2012
- **Frequently works with:** [Michael Haneke](https://film.one/person/michael-haneke.md), [Veit Heiduschka](https://film.one/person/veit-heiduschka.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 74 (1), 2000s 75 (3), 2010s 64 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 72 to 66 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 1 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Romance 3, History 1, Horror 1, Mystery 1, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 11 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $196m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanne_Lothar, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q76550, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0521443/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/19123

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*The Piano Teacher*](https://film.one/film/the-piano-teacher.md) (82), [*Funny Games*](https://film.one/film/funny-games.md) (74)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Susanne Lothar

> Susanne Lothar makes fear and exhaustion painfully convincing. We value her for keeping people human under extreme pressure, especially in *Funny Games*, where Michael Haneke's determination to test the audience sometimes needs resisting.

In *Funny Games* (1997), Susanne Lothar sustains fear and exhaustion through long, demanding takes. As Anna, she keeps the family's suffering painfully human while Michael Haneke tests our willingness to watch it. We were distressed by her exhaustion because she makes it difficult to retreat into admiring how the film has been put together. With Ulrich Mühe, she keeps our attention on the family rather than on the cleverness of the people tormenting them.

*Eisenhans* (1983) began her screen career, but the stage remained her main workplace until the mid-1990s. Her physically committed work with theatre director Peter Zadek, including the title role in *Lulu* (1988/89), is a useful starting point for understanding an actor so often asked to endure distress on screen. *Engelchen* (1996) and *Funny Games* brought her greater film prominence. In *Funny Games*, her physical effort never distracts us from Anna's fear.

Her four films with Haneke gave that intensity several uses. In *The Castle* (1997) she played Frieda; in *The Piano Teacher* (2001), Mme Schober, an ambitious, domineering mother. The midwife in *The White Ribbon* (2009), her final role for Haneke, continued the association with anguished women. These parts make it easy to describe her by the amount of suffering involved, which tells us too little about why she holds our attention. In *Funny Games*, vulnerability matters because we still care about the person enduring it.

That is also why her performance cannot excuse everything around it. We recommend *Funny Games* for its dread, but Haneke's repeated lessons about why we are watching can become wearing. Lothar gives the family enough weight for his ideas to matter, and enough for us to resent the moments when he seems to care more about our reaction. Start there if the subject is bearable: her work earns the attention, though there is no obligation to agree with the director.

## Biography

Susanne Lothar was a German stage, film and television actress. She studied drama at the Hochschule für Theater und Musik in Hamburg and began her career in theatre, including at the Thalia Theater and Deutsches Schauspielhaus.

She made her film debut in *Eisenhans* (1983). Lothar collaborated several times with director Michael Haneke, appearing as Anna in *Funny Games* (1997), Mme Schober in *The Piano Teacher* (2001) and the midwife in *The White Ribbon* (2009). Other notable film roles include Carla Berg in *The Reader* (2008) and Princess Shcherbatsky in *Anna Karenina* (2012). She was married to actor Ulrich Mühe from 1997 until his death in 2007.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, filmportal.de.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Anna Karenina* (2012), Fi1m 64, as Princess Shcherbatsky — [page](https://film.one/film/anna-karenina.md)
- *The White Ribbon* (2009), Fi1m 86, as The Midwife — [page](https://film.one/film/the-white-ribbon.md)
- *The Reader* (2008), Fi1m 56, as Carla Berg — [page](https://film.one/film/the-reader.md)
- *The Piano Teacher* (2001), Fi1m 82, as Mme Schober — [page](https://film.one/film/the-piano-teacher.md)
- *Funny Games* (1997), Fi1m 74, as Anna — [page](https://film.one/film/funny-games.md)

## Complete filmography (68)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *My Blind Heart* (2014), as Mutter
- *Dust On Our Hearts* (2013), as Chris
- *Anna Karenina* (2012), as Princess Shcherbatsky — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/anna-karenina.md)
- *Friends Forever* (2012), as Alice
- *Letzte Spur Berlin* (2012), series, as Maren Lösch
- *Remembrance* (2011), as Stefania Limanowska
- *If Not Us, Who?* (2011), as Ilse Ensslin
- *Morgen musst du sterben* (2010), as Marianne Freud
- *The Coming Days* (2010), as Martha Kuper
- *Nemesis* (2010), as Claire
- *Die Auflehnung* (2010), as Thekla Wittmann
- *The White Ribbon* (2009), as The Midwife — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/the-white-ribbon.md)
- *Der Tiger oder Was Frauen lieben!* (2009), as Hannah Schneider
- *Und ewig schweigen die Männer* (2008), as Gabi
- *The Reader* (2008), as Carla Berg — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/film/the-reader.md)
- *Morgen räum ich auf* (2008), as Inge Krusch
- *Fleisch ist mein Gemüse* (2008), as Heinz Mutter
- *Import/Export* (2007), as Paulis Mutter
- *Madonnas* (2007), as Isabella
- *Der Kriminalist* (2006), series, as Katharina Wagenbach
- *Kommissar Stolberg* (2006), series, as Regina Bülow
- *Die Österreichische Methode* (2006), as Carmen Fischer
- *Unter dem Eis* (2005), as Frau Pötter
- *Snowland* (2005), as Hilma
- *Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder* (2003), as Yvette Pottier
- *Hamlet_X* (2003), as Gertrude 3
- *Die achte Todsünde: Das Toskana-Karussell* (2002), as Marion Hansen
- *Bloch* (2002), series, as Daniela Sonnenberg
- *Das Duo* (2002), series, as Bettina von Laatzen
- *Amen.* (2002), as Alexandra Baltz
- *The Piano Teacher* (2001), as Mme Schober — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-piano-teacher.md)
- *To Have and to Hold* (2001), as Woman
- *Dreimal Leben* (2001), as Sonja
- *Vom Küssen und vom Fliegen* (2000), as Petra Maier
- *Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace* (2000), as Sabine Leibholz
- *Die blauen und die grauen Tage* (2000), as Britta Hansen
- *Backlands* (1999), as Hanne Brandt
- *Der Mörder meiner Mutter* (1999), as Dr. Julia Engelhardt
- *Einfach raus* (1999), as Renate Reimann
- *Der letzte Zeuge* (1998), series, as Senta Zöllner, Helena Usman, Karoline Krug
- *Blutige Scheidung* (1997), as Anna
- *Funny Games* (1997), as Anna — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/funny-games.md)
- *The Castle* (1997), as Frieda
- *Little Angel* (1997), as Ramona Schneider
- *Die Stunden vor Morgengrauen* (1997), as Luise Barnfeld
- *Hollister* (1997), as Sylvia
- *Frauen morden leichter* (1997), series, Actor
- *Der Sohn des Babymachers* (1996), as Carmen
- *Schnellschuß* (1995), as Collette
- *Geschäfte* (1995), as Livia
- *Benito: The Rise and Fall of Mussolini* (1994), series, as Angelica Balabanoff
- *Ärzte* (1994), series, as Ellen Jacob
- *Heimat 2: A Chronicle of a Generation* (1993), series, as Esther Goldbaum
- *Das tödliche Auge* (1993), as Vera Meerholtz
- *The Democratic Terrorist* (1992), as Friederike
- *Lulu* (1991), as Lulu
- *Winckelmanns Reisen* (1990), as Aline Maas
- *The Mountain* (1990), as Lena
- *Das Geheimnis des gelben Geparden* (1990), as Eliane
- *Agatha Christie's Poirot* (1989), series, as Hildegarde Schmidt — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/agatha-christies-poirot.md)
- *Anwalt Abel* (1988), series, as Dorothe Kalisch
- *Der Fahnder* (1984), series, as Gina
- *Eisenhans* (1983), as Marga Schroth
- *A Case For Two* (1981), series, as Julia Massner
- *SOKO München* (1978), series, as Ina Richter
- *The Old Fox* (1977), series, as Margot Röhrich
- *Polizeiruf 110* (1971), series, as Luise König
- *Scene of the Crime* (1970), series, as Nina Radovanovic, Hanna Hebbel, Katja Frege, Cora Rohwedder, Andrea Hochreiter

## Gallery

- ![German actress Susanne Lothar at the Cinema for Peace gala. (2010)](https://film.one/media/person/87357/gallery-70870c722d55.jpg) German actress Susanne Lothar at the Cinema for Peace gala. (2010) — Siebbi, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Susanne_Lothar_%282011%29.jpg/1280px-Susanne_Lothar_%282011%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Susanne Lothar](https://film.one/media/person/87357/gallery-f4898c519dbe.jpg) Susanne Lothar — Susanne_Lothar_(2011).jpg: Siebbi
derivative work: César (talk), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Susanne_Lothar_%282011%29_cropped.jpg/1280px-Susanne_Lothar_%282011%29_cropped.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Susanne Lothar](https://film.one/media/person/87357/gallery-fdbeccdef450.jpg) Susanne Lothar — Image via TMDB
- ![Susanne Lothar](https://film.one/media/person/87357/gallery-6743e886ab79.jpg) Susanne Lothar — Image via TMDB
- ![Susanne Lothar](https://film.one/media/person/87357/gallery-69380e6dda7c.jpg) Susanne Lothar — Image via TMDB
- ![Susanne Lothar](https://film.one/media/person/87357/gallery-0ee2bf34dafd.jpg) Susanne Lothar — Image via TMDB
- ![Susanne Lothar](https://film.one/media/person/87357/gallery-2b02868ac100.jpg) Susanne Lothar — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/susanne-lothar