Biography

Anke Engelke was born in Montreal, Canada in December 1965. She is a comedian, actor and writer, known for Die Wochenshow (1996), Das schönste Mädchen der Welt (2018) and Ladykracher (2002). She has garnered numerous awards, including the Grimme Award for the improv show Blind Date 2 - Taxi nach Schweinau.

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In 1971 she moved to Cologne with her family. She attended the Freiherr-von-Stein-Gymnasium there, where she sang in the choir, which is how she was discovered for radio. From 1978, Engelke presented the RTL radio children's program "Moment mal" and later the ZDF "Ferienprogramm". In the mid-1980s she returned to radio, where she hosted a nighttime show on SWF 3. After various music projects in which she appeared as a singer with her sister Susanne, among others, Engelke returned to radio again in 1993. She hosted the radio show "So what?!" for SWF 3. and gave a taste of her comedic talent for the first time in "Gagtory" on SWF 3.

In 1994, Engelke married the keyboardist Andreas Grimm, whom she had met during her music projects. Their first child was born in September 1996. Engelke's breakthrough came in the same year when the television station Sat.1 was looking for a news anchor for the comedy program "Wochenshow" with Ingolf Lück. In 1999, she and her husband founded the production company "Ladykracher", which launched the moderately successful comedy show "Anke" as its first program. She also worked as a stage actress, alongside Peter Millowitsch, the son of Willy Millowitsch. Director Detlev Buck brought the popular comedienne into the filming team for his film "Liebesluder".

Engelke had previously been in discussion for Guildo Horn's film "Wash, lay, blow-dry". Engelke's marriage had now broken down and she made headlines with a relationship with Viva presenter Niels Ruf, who regularly shocked people with his show "Kamikazee". When the animated film "Tarzan & Jane" was released in cinemas in 2001, Engelke also made a name for herself as a voice actress. She lent her voice to the jungle woman "Jane". The polar bear mother in "The Little Polar Bear" also got her voice. After Engelke left the "Wochenshow" at the end of 2001, she began working on her new show "Ladykracher", which went on air in January 2002. "Ladykracher" already had a cult following after the first season.

The second season followed on Sat.1 from September 27th. In 2003, Engelke and Oliver Dittrich were awarded the Adolf Grimme Gold Prize for their comedy series "Blind Date". After the unexpected departure of entertainer Harald Schmidt from SAT.1, Engelke signed a contract with the private broadcaster: From May 17, 2004, Engelke succeeded Harald Schmidt at SAT.1 as a late-night talker. "Anke Late-Night" was a colorful mix of comedy, current topics and high-quality guests. In May 2004, Engelke celebrated her film debut in "The Wixxer".

There she played alongside comedy colleagues such as Bastian Pastewka, Oliver Kalkofe and Olli Dittrich. After the viewer ratings for Engelke's "Late Night Show" deteriorated in the summer of 2004, the Sat.1 management announced the cancellation of the show at the beginning of October. "Anke Late Night" was broadcast for the last time on October 21, 2004. Two new TV appearances for the presenter have already been announced for the following year: in mid-January 2005, Engelke moderated the "Golden Globe Awards" ceremony for Pro7 live from Los Angeles; In February 2005 she was also seen as a commentator at the "Oscar" awards.

On January 27, 2005, the Helmut Dietl film "On Searching and Finding Love" was released in cinemas, in which Anke Engelke caused a stir with a bed scene with Harald Schmidt. Together with Hugo Egon Balder, she took over the moderation of the "German Television Prize" in October 2005. Anke Engelke took on a major task in 2007 with the dubbing of "Marge Simpson" from the cult comic series "The Simpsons". Elisabeth Volkmann, who died in July 2006, gave the character her unmistakable voice for many years. In July 2005, Anke Engelke became a mother for the second time. The father of her son is Claus Fischer, the ex-bandleader of the shows "Anke Late Night" and "TV total", whom she married on December 21, 2005.

In 2006 she appeared in front of the camera for the productions "Ladyland" and "Vollidiot". In 2005 she received the "Rose d'Or" in the FRAPA Scripted Format Prize category for "Ladykracher". In 2006, Engelke was awarded the "German Comedy Prize" in the "Best Comedy" category for "Ladykracher". In 2009 she became the mother of a second son.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth