Leopoldine Konstantin was an Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n actress. She took acting lessons with Alexander Strakosch, whom she married shortly afterwards, and made her debut in the Deutsches Theater

Deutsches Theater

The Deutsches Theater in Berlin is a well-known German theatre. It was built in 1850 as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater, after Frederick William IV of Prussia. Located on Schumann Street , the Deutsches Theater consists of two adjoining stages that share a common, classical facade...

 in Berlin in 1907. She played in Frank Wedekind

Frank Wedekind

Benjamin Franklin Wedekind , usually known as Frank Wedekind, was a German playwright...

's Spring Awakening (1907), Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...

(1907), A Winter's Tale (1908), and A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...

(1910).

From 1911 she was to be found at the Kammerspielen in Berlin and became known in the Berlin salons. She moved to Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 in 1916 and by 1924 she was playing the title role in Friedrich Schiller

Friedrich Schiller

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...

's Mary Stuart.

Starting in 1912 she also played in silent movie

Silent Movie

Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...

s, initially in title roles. She turned away from this medium when, after the First World War, she was offered increasingly minor parts. In 1923 she had a house built in Westerland for herself and her son Alexander. In 1924 she married Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 counsellor and author Géza Herczeg.

From 1933 she returned to film work, and in 1935 she returned to Austria. Divorced in 1938, she moved to the United States via England. She spoke no English at that time, and had to take a job as a factory worker, until after intensive language study she landed a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...

's 1946 film Notorious.

She performed in two television series in 1948 and returned to Vienna. Her last acting work involved sporadic theatre roles and poetry readings on the radio.

Filmography

• 1912: Gebannt und erlöst (Banned and redeemed)
• 1912: Die Hand des Schicksals (The Hand of Fate)
• 1912: Die Heldin der schwarzen Berge (The Heroine of the Black Mountains)
• 1913: Vater und Sohn (Father and Son)
• 1913: Die Insel der Seligen (The Isle of the Blessed)
• 1914: Kleine weiße Sklaven (Little White Slaves)
• 1914: Die zerbrochene Puppe (The Smashed Doll)
• 1915: Das Wiegenlied (The Lullaby)
• 1917: Aus vergessenen Akten (From Forgotten Files)
• 1917: Der Onyxkopf (The Onyx Head)
• 1918: Lola Montez (Lola Montez)
• 1919: Der Volontär (The Volunteer)
• 1919: Der Verrat der Gräfin Leonie (The Betrayal of Countess Leonie)
• 1919: Können Gedanken töten? (Can Thoughts Die?)
• 1920: Der Shawl der Kaiserin Katharina II (The Shawl of Empress Catherine II)
• 1920: Präsident Barrada (President Barrada)
• 1920: Weltbrand (World Brand)
• 1921: Der Silberkönig (The Silver King)
• 1933: Saison in Kairo (Season in Cairo)
• 1933: Es tut sich was um Mitternacht (It's happening at midnight)
• 1933: Früchtchen / Csibi, der Fratz
• 1934: Liebe dumme Mama
• 1934: Prinzessin Turandot (Princess Turandot)
• 1934: Der alte und der junge König (The Old and the Young King)
• 1935: Frischer Wind aus Kanada (A fresh breeze from Canada)
• 1936: Mädchenpensionat
• 1936: Und du, mein Schatz, fährst mit (And you, my darling, go with them)
• 1937: Andere Welt (Other World)
• 1946: Notorious