Erni Mangold

Erni Mangold, born Erna Goldmann in Lower Austria in 1927, is considered one of the most influential actresses in Austrian film and theater. She has been appearing on camera and on stage since the late 1940s and has earned a special reputation as a strong character actress with her pointed, often idiosyncratic roles. Her career includes work on major German-language stages as well as numerous film and television productions. Erni Mangold gained international recognition for her role as the seer's lover in Hanussen by O. W. Fischer. Later film appearances such as Anonyma – Eine Frau in Berlin and Hinter Kaifeck show her in dense, atmospheric material that combines historical and psychological themes. In the German-Austrian drama VON JETZT AN KEIN ZURÜCK (2014, directed by Christian Frosch), she plays the strict mother superior Mother Benedikta, who helps decide the fate of the young protagonist. The film premiered at the Oldenburg International Film Festival and won the Austrian Film Award for Best Screenplay, among other honors. Her more recent work also includes productions such as Der letzte Tanz (The Last Dance), Murer – Anatomie eines Prozesses (Murer – Anatomy of a Trial), and various television films. Erni Mangold has also remained active on television, with appearances in the cult series Kottan ermittelt and in several episodes of Tatort. For her performance in Der letzte Tanz, she received the Austrian Film Award for Best Actress and the Diagonale Acting Award and was nominated as Most Popular Actress at the Romy Gala. With this mixture of cinema, television, and theater work, Erni Mangold has established herself as a long-standing, distinctive personality in German-language acting.