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Mady Christians
Mady Christians
Age 59 years (Jan 17, 1892 – Oct 29, 1951)
Birthplace Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria)
Movies 34
TV Shows 1

Mady Christians

Whatever else has changed around her, Mady Christians has remained a working actress known to audiences from a long list of titles rather than from one. Playing Frau Berndle in 'Letter from an Unknown Woman' put her in front of the widest audience of the career. The list also holds 'Heidi'. Viewing habits have changed more than once since the first credit. Most of the work sits in drama. Steady employment, rather than one breakout, gives the career its shape.
Whatever else has changed around her, Mady Christians has remained a working actress known to audiences from a long list of titles rather than from one. Playing Frau Berndle in 'Letter from an Unknown Woman' put her in front of the widest audience of the career. The list also holds 'Heidi'. Viewing habits have changed more than once since the first credit. Most of the work sits in drama. Steady employment, rather than one breakout, gives the career its shape.
Latest Trailers
All My Sons
Watch Trailer
All My Sons
Full Filmography 35
★ 6.6
1948Season 1
TV
All My Sons
Kate Keller
★ 6.5
1948
Film
Letter from an Unknown Woman
Frau Berndle
★ 7.8
1948
Film
Address Unknown
Elsa Schulz
★ 6.4
1944
Film
Tender Comrade
Manya Lodge
★ 5.7
1944
Film
Heidi
Dete
★ 7.0
1937
Film
The Woman I Love
Florence
★ 7.0
1937
Film
Seventh Heaven
Marie
★ 6.4
1937
Film
Come and Get It
Karie Linbeck
★ 6.8
1936
Film
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mady Christians still alive?
Mady Christians passed away on October 29, 1951 at age 59.
What are the most famous roles of Mady Christians?
Mady Christians is best known for roles in Letter from an Unknown Woman, Heidi, Michael.
How many movies has Mady Christians been in?
Over a 35-year career (since 1916), Mady Christians has appeared in 34 movies and 1 TV shows.
What was Mady Christians's first movie?
The career of Mady Christians began with Audrey (1916).
What is Mady Christians's most recent movie or series?
Mady Christians's most recent release is The Philco Television Playhouse, which premiered on October 3, 1948.
What TV shows has Mady Christians appeared in?
On television, Mady Christians has appeared in The Philco Television Playhouse.
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Mady Christians
Mady Christians
1892-01-17 · Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria)

Marguerita Maria "Mady" Christians (January 19, 1892 – October 28, 1951) was an Austrian actress and naturalized US citizen who had a successful acting career in theatre and film in the United States until she was blacklisted during the McCarthy period. She was born on January 19, 1892 to Rudolph Christians, a well-known German actor, and his wife, Bertha. Her family moved to Berlin when she was one year old, and to New York City in 1912, where her father became the Irving Place Theatre's general manager. Five years later she returned to Europe to study under Max Reinhardt.

She appeared in a number of European films prior to the early 1930s. In 1929, she starred in the first full sound film made in Germany It's You I Have Loved. In 1933, she toured the United States in a play called Marching By and was offered a Broadway contract the following year that allowed her, like a number of other German artists, to seek refuge from the Nazi regime in the United States.

On Broadway, Christians played Queen Gertrude in Hamlet and Lady Percy in Henry IV, Part I, staged by director Margaret Webster. Webster was part of a small but influential group of lesbian producers, directors, and actors in theater (a group that included Eva Le Gallienne and Cheryl Crawford). Webster and Christians became close friends: according to Webster biographer Milly S. Barranger, it is likely that they also were lovers.

She also starred in Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine. She originated the title role in the 1944 play I Remember Mama. Her last movie roles were in All My Sons, based on the play by Arthur Miller, and Letter from an Unknown Woman, both released in 1948.

During World War II, Christians was involved in political work on behalf of refugees, rights for workers (especially in theater and film), and Russian War relief, political efforts that would bring her to the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other anti-communist institutions and organizations. In addition to her political work, Christians also publicly criticized the House Committee on Un-American Activities in early 1941 and likened the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee's investigation of propaganda in US film to Nazi harassment of film and radio artists in the 1930s. In 1950, the FBI's internal security division began investigating Christians, who had been identified as a "concealed communist" by a confidential informant. When Christians' name appeared in Red Channels, the so-called bible of the broadcast blacklist, her career was effectively over.

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