She comes from an East Berlin family of doctors, studied medicine after reunification and has a doctorate.

But Christiane Paul made her first film at the age of 17: "Deutschfieber".

After the birth of her daughter Masha in 2002, she increasingly focused on acting.

Today she is one of the most sought-after German actresses.

One of her greatest successes is the television thriller "Unterm Radar", for which she received an Emmy for leading actress in 2016.

At the same time, the forty-eight-year-old is socially involved and was, among other things, the national ambassador for the World AIDS Day campaign.

Now she can be seen in the cinema as Frau Schlotterbeck in the remake of "Räuber Hotzenplotz" based on Otfried Preussler.

Peter Philipp Schmitt

Editor in the department "Germany and the World".

  • Follow I follow

What do you eat for breakfast?

I drink a cup of black tea, an English PG Tips, with milk and honey.

I rarely have breakfast during the week because I don't have the time or nerves for it.

But at the weekend I like to eat a roll and an egg.

Where do you buy your clothes?

When I'm in Berlin, I often shop at "Greta & Luis" in my neighborhood in Schöneberg.

I also like to wear Closed and Lala Berlin privately.

Due to time constraints, I also shop online more often.

What is the oldest item of clothing in your closet?

A nightgown from my grandmother.

It has a delicate red and white houndstooth pattern.

I loved that about her as a kid and so did she, so I still have it.

But I don't wear it.

When was the last time you wrote a letter by hand?

Today.

To my credit card company.

That's just a bit unromantic and not meant to be taken seriously.

In fact, I still write a lot by hand.

Notes to the family, for example, if I have to leave early in the morning, I'll get everything ready and add a handwritten note.

What book has impressed you the most in life?

As a teenager, I read a lot by Erich Maria Remarque, including works that weren't as well known as Three Comrades.

The language really touched me, even if it's often kitschy.

I was also moved later by books, such as Siri Hustvedt's "What I Loved" or, most recently, Celeste Ng's "Little Fires Everywhere".

But as an adult you are not as receptive as when you are growing up, because you are probably not as shaped by life then.

How do you find out about world events?

With the "Tagesschau" app.

What's your favorite small talk topic?

I used to be really bad at small talk.

Over the years, also through events that are part of my job, you learn that a bit.

But I prefer to talk to the people I really like.

I don't need any small talk because it's about interesting topics that quickly cover a wide range and aren't about anything superficial.

Because that's small talk: a topic that you have acquired in order to deal with it in the business world.

What was the last movie that made you cry?

I was on vacation with my children at the Baltic Sea, and they always “have to” watch old films with me.

It's a bit of a tradition.

This time I showed them "Philadelphia" with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington.

I hadn't seen it myself for 30 years, and of course it's getting on in years, also as far as the subject is concerned.

As a society, we have come a long way today.

But I still think Hanks and Washington are terrific, and the scene of Hanks explaining the opera aria “La mamma morta” moved even my children.

Just like the funeral scene at the end.