Charlotte Roche
Encyclopedia
Charlotte Elisabeth Grace Roche (born 18 March 1978 in High Wycombe
, England) is a British-born German television presenter, actress, singer and author.
region, in a family with liberal views. Her primary school was in Niederkrüchten
. In 1989 she went to the secondary school, St. Wolfhelm Gymnasium
, in the neighbouring town of Schwalmtal
. When she was 14 years old she moved to Mönchengladbach
, where she was educated at the Hugo Junkers Gymnasium in the suburb of Rheydt
. She left school after the 11th grade, at the age of 17. She obtained initial stage experience in drama groups during her time at school.
Roche left home in 1993 and founded with three female friends the garage rock
group The Dubinskis. The members performed several intimate gigs in a small tour before the two other members pulled out. There followed a period where she undertook anything that would shock and offend people — self mutilation in order to paint with blood, drug experiments, or shaving her head. After successfully auditioning for the German music channel Viva, she worked there for several years as a video jockey and presenter, as well on the sister channel Viva Zwei, where she presented her show Fast Forward.
Roche has a daughter, Polly, born in 2002, whose father Eric Pfeil was the producer and writer of Roche's programme Fast Forward and Der Kindergeburtstag ist vorbei! (The birthday party is over). Since 2007, Roche has been married to Martin Keß, co-founder of Brainpool
, a media company in Cologne.
In 2006, Roche played the female lead (alongside Josef Ostendorf) in the German film Eden, directed by Michael Hofman. The film was widely distributed in Europe.
In an interview published in Der Spiegel
in 2010, Charlotte Roche proposed to have sex with German president Christian Wulff
in exchange for his veto on a new regulation extending the life of nuclear reactors, highlighting the controversial extension, and Wulff's role in passing it into law.
(English: Wetlands) was the world's best-selling novel at Amazon.com
in March 2008. Partly autobiographical, it explores cleanliness
, sex and femininity, and had sold over 1,500,000 copies in Germany by early 2009. For supporters it is an erotic literary
classic; for critics it is cleverly marketed pornography
.
Justin E. H. Smith wrote of the novel in a review in n+1
: "If Roche has hit on something true and heretofore unsaid, it is the insight that to write about bodily fluids is not to describe something exceptional in the course of human life. It is, rather, to describe something that is always there and always felt to be there, through all those other things people do and experience at that level that used to be the subject of novels (falling in love, challenging others to duels, talking about the buying and selling of land, etc)."
Her second novel, Schoßgebete was published in 2011. The novel makes reference to a family tragedy in Roche's own life, the death of three of her brothers in 2001.
" with German musician Bela B.
, from Bela's debut album Bingo
.
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, England) is a British-born German television presenter, actress, singer and author.
Life and career
Roche, who is bilingual in English and German, is the daughter of an engineer and a politically and artistically active mother. She has lived in Germany since the age of eight, having previously lived in London and the Netherlands. She grew up in the Lower RhineLower Rhine region (Germany)
The Lower Rhine region or Niederrhein is a region around the Lower Rhine section of the river Rhine in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany between approximately Neuss and Düsseldorf in the South and the Dutch border around Emmerich in the North...
region, in a family with liberal views. Her primary school was in Niederkrüchten
Niederkrüchten
Niederkrüchten is a municipality in the district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km east of Roermond and 15 km west of Mönchengladbach....
. In 1989 she went to the secondary school, St. Wolfhelm Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
, in the neighbouring town of Schwalmtal
Schwalmtal, North Rhine-Westphalia
Schwalmtal is a municipality in the district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is named after the river Schwalm, which flows through the area. Schwalmtal is situated approx. 12 km west of Mönchengladbach....
. When she was 14 years old she moved to Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach , formerly known as Münchengladbach, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine half way between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border....
, where she was educated at the Hugo Junkers Gymnasium in the suburb of Rheydt
Rheydt
Rheydt is a borough of the German city Mönchengladbach, located in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 1918 and then again from 1933 through 1975 it was an independent city....
. She left school after the 11th grade, at the age of 17. She obtained initial stage experience in drama groups during her time at school.
Roche left home in 1993 and founded with three female friends the garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
group The Dubinskis. The members performed several intimate gigs in a small tour before the two other members pulled out. There followed a period where she undertook anything that would shock and offend people — self mutilation in order to paint with blood, drug experiments, or shaving her head. After successfully auditioning for the German music channel Viva, she worked there for several years as a video jockey and presenter, as well on the sister channel Viva Zwei, where she presented her show Fast Forward.
Roche has a daughter, Polly, born in 2002, whose father Eric Pfeil was the producer and writer of Roche's programme Fast Forward and Der Kindergeburtstag ist vorbei! (The birthday party is over). Since 2007, Roche has been married to Martin Keß, co-founder of Brainpool
Brainpool (company)
Brainpool TV GmbH is a German television production company located in Cologne. In 2001 it had become a subsidiary of VIVA Medien AG, until a Management-Buy-outs in January 2007.-Productions:*Die Harald Schmidt Show...
, a media company in Cologne.
In 2006, Roche played the female lead (alongside Josef Ostendorf) in the German film Eden, directed by Michael Hofman. The film was widely distributed in Europe.
In an interview published in Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
in 2010, Charlotte Roche proposed to have sex with German president Christian Wulff
Christian Wulff
Christian Wilhelm Walter Wulff is the President of Germany and a politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was elected President on 2010 and publicly swore the oath of office on . A lawyer by profession, he served as Premier of the state of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2010.-Early life and...
in exchange for his veto on a new regulation extending the life of nuclear reactors, highlighting the controversial extension, and Wulff's role in passing it into law.
Writer
Roche's book FeuchtgebieteFeuchtgebiete
Feuchtgebiete is Charlotte Roche's debut novel. Partly autobiographical , it was first published in German in 2008 by DuMont and was the world's best-selling novel in March 2008. For supporters it is a piece of erotic literature; for critics it is cleverly marketed pornography...
(English: Wetlands) was the world's best-selling novel at Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
in March 2008. Partly autobiographical, it explores cleanliness
Cleanliness
Cleanliness is both the abstract state of being clean and free from dirt, and the process of achieving and maintaining that state.Cleanliness may be endowed with a moral quality, as indicated by the aphorism "cleanliness is next to godliness," and may be regarded as contributing to other ideals...
, sex and femininity, and had sold over 1,500,000 copies in Germany by early 2009. For supporters it is an erotic literary
Erotic literature
Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of human sexual relationships which have the power to or are intended to arouse the reader sexually. Such erotica takes the form of novels, short stories, poetry, true-life memoirs, and sex manuals...
classic; for critics it is cleverly marketed pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
.
Justin E. H. Smith wrote of the novel in a review in n+1
N+1
n+1 is a New York–based American literary magazine that publishes social criticism, political commentary, essays, art, poetry, book reviews, and short fiction. It is published three times each year, and content is published on several times each week...
: "If Roche has hit on something true and heretofore unsaid, it is the insight that to write about bodily fluids is not to describe something exceptional in the course of human life. It is, rather, to describe something that is always there and always felt to be there, through all those other things people do and experience at that level that used to be the subject of novels (falling in love, challenging others to duels, talking about the buying and selling of land, etc)."
Her second novel, Schoßgebete was published in 2011. The novel makes reference to a family tragedy in Roche's own life, the death of three of her brothers in 2001.
Singer
In 2006 Roche featured on the single "1. 2. 3. ...1. 2. 3. ...
"1. 2. 3. ..." is a song by Bela B. and Charlotte Roche. It's the second single and the eighth track from Bela's debut album Bingo. The song tells a story, where Bela goes to a bar to hook up with some woman and meets a guy, who wants to drink with him...
" with German musician Bela B.
Bela B.
Dirk Felsenheimer , better known under his stage name Bela B., is a German musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for being the drummer and one of the singers in the German band Die Ärzte. In 2006 he released his first solo album entitled Bingo. Bela B...
, from Bela's debut album Bingo
Bingo (album)
Bingo is the first solo album of the German singer Bela B., released in 2006.The song "Lee Hazlewood & das erste Lied des Tages" is also featured on the Lee Hazlewood album, Cake or Death as "The First Song of the Day".-Track listing:...
.