Natja Brunckhorst (born 26 September 1966) is a German actress, screenwriter, and director. Brunckhorst was 13 years old when she was selected by director Uli Edel for the leading role as Christiane F. in the critically acclaimed 1981 dramatisation of the biographical work Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo by Christiane Vera Felscherinow, written following the tape recordings of the experiences of teenage girl Christiane F. The film immediately acquired cult status (which it still retains today) and features David Bowie as both himself and the soundtrack composer, which gave the film a commercial boost. A year later Brunckhorst appeared in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Querelle (1982). After the unexpected success of Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, in order to avoid public attention she retreated from public life and went to school in England. After a short time in Paris she returned to Germany in 1987 to study at the Schauspielschule Bochum. Since then she has acted on film and television, for example in The Princess and the Warrior, as well as the German TV series Dr. Sommerfeld – Neues vom Bülowbogen.
Following a recovery from cancer which caused a break in her acting career, in 1998, Brunckhorst began working as a scriptwriter, first for the television series Einsatz Hamburg Süd. Her biographical film was awarded the Lola for the best script in 2001. In the same year her first work as a director was published, La Mer, a playful-romantic short film. In addition, she still appears in movies, such as her part in 2000 alongside Franka Potente and Benno Fürmann in the movie The Princess and the Warrior. In , the only German contribution to the Venice Film Festival in 2011, she embodied a woman in desperation for the speechlessness of her family.
Brunckhorst has one daughter: Emma (born 1991), from a relationship with German actor Dominic Raacke that lasted from 1988 to 1993. She currently lives in Munich.
Natja Brunckhorst is a member of the high-IQ society Mensa.
Awards
Deutscher Drehbuchpreis (German screenplay prize) LOLA 2001: Never Mind the Wall
Goldener Spatz im Wettbewerb Kino-TV als Bester deutschsprachiger Spielfilm für Kinder (Best German language film for children; Amelie rennt)
Filmography
1981: Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
1982: Querelle
1987: Kinder aus Stein
1989: Tiger, Lion, Panther
1989: Der Fuchs (TV series, episode 7: Schach und Rauch) 1990: Spitzen der Gesellschaft 1991: Babylon 1993: Die Skrupellosen – Hörigkeit des Herzens 1994: Die Kommissarin (TV series, episode 11: Corinna) 1995: Eine fast perfekte Liebe 1995: Das verletzte Lächeln 1995: Pack mich (short) 1995: Alles außer Mord: Y.?17 1996: Das verletzte Lächeln 1997: Virus X – Der Atem des Todes 1997: Rendezvous (short) 1997: 1997: Kalte Küsse 1998: Einsatz Hamburg Süd (TV series, screenplay) 2000: The Princess and the Warrior 2001: (screenplay) 2002: La Mer (director und screenplay) 2009: Tatort: (screenplay) 2009: Mein 2010: Leipzig Homicide: Wut im Bauch (actress) 2010: Wie ein Stern am Himmel (screenplay) 2011: (actress) 2012: Tatort: (Idea, screenplay) 2017: Amelie rennt (screenplay)