Bernadette Heerwagen

Bernadette Heerwagen
Heerwagen in 2011
Born	(1977-06-22) 22 June 1977 (age 39) Bonn, West Germany
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–present

Bernadette Heerwagen (born 22 June 1977) is a German actress. She began acting aged sixteen and since co-starring in the 1999 production Der Schandfleck', for which she was awarded the Bayerischer Fernsehpreis Sonderpreis in 2000, Heerwagen has gone on to play in a variety of leading and supporting roles in German and Austrian television films, dramas and in European cinema. In 2004 her leading performance in Grüße Aus Kaschmir took her to greater prominence within Germany and France.

She has twice won Best Actress award at the Adolf-Grimme-Preis, in 2005 and 2008, and has won Best Actress at the Bayerischer Fernsehpreis (aka Bavarian TV Awards) in 2000. In 2010 she starred in Die Kommenden Tage alongside Daniel Brühl and earned the nomination for Best Leading Actress at the German Film Awards in 2011. Heerwagen has one brother, Philipp Heerwagen, born in 1983, who is a professional soccer player for the German football team FC St. Pauli.

After being cast in a short-film in 1992, Heerwagen was spotted by Portuguese film director Miguel Alexandre whilst at the Bavaria Film Studios. Alexandre approached Heerwagen, then aged sixteen, and asked her to play the lead role in his new film for German television. Heerwagen accepted and starred in the title role of her debut film Nana (1995) for ARD and HFF München. After several roles in television films she then went on to star in the TV film Die Aubergers (1997) and in its follow up television series. She also studied acting techniques and drama at Film Breakthrough in Munich. After landing a supporting role in ARD and Bayerischer Rundfunk's television film Liebe und weitere Katastrophen (1999) alongside Senta Berger, Heerwagen was then cast as the co-star in the German television two-part film Der Schandfleck (1999) which brought her to much wider notice as an actress in Germany. Heerwagen progressed to feature in a number of television dramas and series, such as SOKO 5113. In 2000 she won the Special Award for her role in the docu-drama Wir sind da! Juden in Deutschland 1945 at the Bavarian TV Awards along with the director and her co-actor.