
Ossi Oswalda
Acting • Born 1897-01-31 – Died 1947-03-07
Biography
Ossi Oswalda (born Oswalda Amalie Anna Stäglich, 2 February 1897 – 7 March 1947) was a German actress, who mostly appeared in silent films. She was given the nickname 'The German Mary Pickford' due to her popularity at the time. Oswalda trained as a ballerina and became a dancer for a theater in Berlin. She made her film debut in Richard Oswald's Nächte des Grauens (Night of Horrors) before being discovered by the actor and screenwriter Hanns Kräly, who in turn recommended her to director Ernst Lubitsch. During her early career, she starred in several films by Lubitsch, including The Merry Jail, I Don't Want to Be a Man, The Oyster Princess and The Doll. Her popularity at the time earned her the nickname 'The German Mary Pickford'. In 1921, Oswalda started her own film production company with her husband at the time, the Hungarian Baron Gustav Wilhelm Viktor Freiherr von Koczian-Miskolczy (1877–1958). However, during the next four years they only produced four films, all starring Oswalda. From 1925 on, she was contracted to Ufa. The couple divorced in 1925, and Oswalda began a high profile affair with Wilhelm, German Crown Prince. Oswalda's career waned along with the silent film era, and she only acted in two sound films, making her final appearance on screen in the 1933 film The Star of Valencia. She escaped Nazi Germany and emigrated to Prague with her partner Julius Aubenberg in the 1930s. Later on, she became a stage actor, and in 1943, wrote the screenplay for the Czechoslovakian film Čtrnáctý u stolu. By spring 1947, Oswalda went bankrupt and was suffering from multiple health problems. Oswalda died penniless in Prague at the age of 50. She is buried at Olsany Cemetery.
Filmography
42 credits
Amor am Steuer
Movie • 1921

Die Fahrt ins Abenteuer
Movie • 1926

The Doll
Movie • 1919
Ossi, the Dollmaker’s Daughter / The Doll

I Don't Want to Be a Man
Movie • 1918
Ossi

The Oyster Princess
Movie • 1919
Ossi, his daughter

Kakadu und Kiebitz
Movie • 1920
Ossi Schönbeck

Die vierte von rechts
Movie • 1929

Ossis Tagebuch
Movie • 1917
Ossi

Pinkus's Shoe Palace
Movie • 1916
Apprentice

Die Kleine vom Varieté
Movie • 1926
Rositta, die Kleine vom Varieté

Der Stern von Valencia
Movie • 1933
Rita

When Four Do the Same
Movie • 1917
Segetoffs Tochter

Der Hilferuf
Movie • 1916

Die Puppe
Movie • 1990

A Night of Horror
Movie • 1917

Express Train of Love
Movie • 1925
Kitty

Amsterdam Artists from the Film 'Housing Shortage' on a Trip to Volendam
Movie • 1920
Herself

The Tenor, Inc.
Movie • 1916
Sallys Cousin

Prinz Sami
Movie • 1918
Herzogin Maria

The Toboggan Cavalier
Movie • 1918
Ossi Hannemann

The Ballet Girl
Movie • 1918
Ossi, eine junge Tänzerin

Meyer from Berlin
Movie • 1919

My Wife, the Movie Star
Movie • 1919
Ossi, der Filmstar der Fabrik

The Swabian Maiden
Movie • 1919
Lorle Schmied

The Housing Shortage
Movie • 1920
Frau

Der Dieb im Schlafcoupée
Movie • 1929

Frühere Verhältnisse
Movie • 1927
Pepi

Herrn Filip Collins Abenteuer
Movie • 1926
Daisy Cuffler

A Crazy Night
Movie • 1927
Margot Olschinsky

Schatz, mach' Kasse
Movie • 1926
Ossi

Das Mädel mit der Maske
Movie • 1922
Hothilde van Erlenkamp

Gräfin Plättmamsell
Movie • 1926

Niniche
Movie • 1925
Niniche

Sir or Madame
Movie • 1928

The chaste Joseph
Movie • 1930

Hundemamachen
Movie • 1920
Ossi

Colibri
Movie • 1924
Colibri

Eddy Polo mit Pferd und Lasso
Movie • 1928

The Merry Jail
Movie • 1917

The Girl with a Patron
Movie • 1925

Ein Weihnachtsfilm für Große
Movie • 1924

The Girl on a Swing
Movie • 1927