Anke Engelke

Actress Anke Engelke proved herself to be one of the signature German comedy voices of the 21st century. Born in Canada, she relocated with her family to Cologne while still a child. Originally a singer, she became the host of the children's television show "Ferienprogramm fur Kinder" (ZDF, 1979-85). She moved into comedy as part of the popular radio show "Gagtory" in 1993, and then joined the original cast of "Die Wochenshow" (Sat.1, 1996-2002). Eventually, she found her way into adult acting roles, first with a guest appearance on the long-running crime drama "Tatort" (Das Erste, 1970-). Her popularity earned her the starring role in the sitcom "Anke" (1999-2001) based loosely on her own life, and her own talk show "Anke Late Night" (Sat.1, 2004). She continued working in sketch comedy as well, starring on "Ladykracher" (Sat.1, 2002-13) and "LadyLand" (2006). She also starred in the Christmas parody "Fröhliche Weihnachten" (Sat.1, 2007). In 2011-12, she hosted the broadcast of the ultra-popular European music competition the Eurovision Song Contest. She continued acting on a regular basis, making appearances in a number of German television films, including "Deadly Leaks" (2016), in addition to recurring roles on "Kommissarin Lucas" (ZDF, 2003-) and "Deutschland 86" (Amazon, 2018). In 2019, she struck a deal with streaming service Netflix to star in the comedy series "The Last Word" as a funeral eulogy speaker struggling with her personal life.