Nastassja Kinski – German actress

Nastassja Kinski is a German actress, Golden Globe winner (1981). In 1975 and 1983 she was awarded Deutscher Filmpreis prize. The actress is known for the title role in the film Tess (1979) and her roles in Wim Wenders’ films.
Nastassja Aglaia Nakszynski (her real name) was born on January 24, 1961 in Berlin to German actor Klaus Kinski and Ruth Brigitte. Her mother worked as a shop assistant when Klaus met her. The father named his daughter Nastassja Aglaia after two characters of Dostoevsky’s novel The Idiot. Nastassja’s parents divorced in 1968 and the girl lived with her mother in Munich. The actress said that the family had financial difficulties at that time and she shoplifted food and small things. She was also caught for ticketless travel on buses. Kinski didn’t pay fines and court summons. Later, in 1978, she was arrested at the airport and had to spend about three months in prison for juveniles.
At the age of 15 the girl had a love affair with film director Roman Polanski. In 1976, Kinski posed for French magazine Vogue.

She made her debut in the film The Wrong Move (1975) by German film director Wim Wenders. For her first role the actress was awarded Deutscher Filmpreis “for outstanding achievement”.
In the movie Abitur (1977) directed by Wolfgang Petersen, she played a schoolgirl who had an affair with a married teacher. Kinski received Bambi award.
In British horror film Daughter of Satan (1977), her first English-language film, Kinski played the young nun – a victim of the satanic cult.
In 1978 in the film Stay as You Are her partner was Marcello Mastroianni. In the same year she got her first title role in the film Passion Flower Hotel.
In 1977 and 1978 she won the gold medal Otto by Bravo magazine.
In 1979 Polanski began filming Tess, adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and invited Kinski to play the main role in the film. The actress received Golden Globe and was nominated for Cesar.
At the Cannes Film Festival Kinski met director Francis Ford Coppola, who later invited her to play in the film One from the Heart (1982).
For her role in the horror film Cat People (1982) directed by Paul Schrader the actress was nominated for Saturn Award.
In 1983 she starred together with ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev and Harvey Keitel in the film Exposed.

In the film Spring Symphony, she played the pianist Clara Wieck – the wife of the German composer Robert Schumann, and received Deutscher Filmpreis award for the second time.
In 1984, Kinski starred in art-house film Paris, Texas directed by Wenders and in the film Maria’s Lovers by Andrei Konchalovsky.
In 1987 she played in the French film Malady of Love directed by Jacques Dere and was nominated for Cesar Award for the second time.
In 1988 she was a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival.
In the late 1980s – early 1990s the actress starred in Italian films.
In 1991, Kinski starred in Soviet-Swiss film The Insulted and the Injured based on Dostoyevsky’s novel.
In 1993 she played in Wim Wenders’s film Faraway, So Close!
In the American action movie Terminal Velocity (1994) she played the role of a former KGB agent, who together with the character of Charlie Sheen saved Soviet gold.
In the mid-90s, she appeared in several television series.
In 1997, Nastassja starred in David Green’s film Godmother.
In 2011 Kinski became a member of the American Academy.

Personal life
In the early 1980s, Kinski’s neighbor was Demi Moore.
In July 1984, Kinski gave birth to her son Aljosha. Two months after his birth, Kinsky married the child’s father, Egyptian-born film producer Ibrahim Moussa, who was 15 years older than her.
In 1991-1997, Kinski lived with American composer Quincy Jones, who was 28 years older than her. In 1993, she gave birth to her daughter Kenya Julia Miambi Sara.
Kinski speaks German, English, French, Italian and Russian.

Nastassja Kinski – German actress