Daniela Ziegler

Daniela Ziegler is one of the best-known actresses in German television, theatre, and musical theatre. She has performed at major theatres in Vienna, Frankfurt, Basel, Zürich, Hamburg, and Berlin.

Her acting roles range from classical repertoire (Elisabeth/Maria Stuart, Helena/Faust II) to characters by modern authors (Maria Callas/Master Class, Martha/Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?).

She has also frequently appeared in musical theatre: in Aribert Reimann’s opera Troades, in Arthur Honegger’s oratorio Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher as Saint Joan, and as Jenny in Brecht/Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.

She received her musical theatre training in New York. Among her most notable musical roles is Eva Perón in the German premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita in Vienna, Berlin, and Munich. For her portrayal of Norma Desmond in Trevor Nunn’s original production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard (DE), she was awarded the “IMAGE” (International Musical Award Germany, 1997). She also played Archduchess Sophie in Elisabeth at the Raimund Theatre in Vienna, in Shanghai, and in the concert performances at Schönbrunn. For her portrayal of Marlene Dietrich in Spatz und Engel at the Grenzland Theatre in Aachen, she received the “Kurt Sieder Prize” for outstanding acting.

A significant part of Daniela Ziegler’s work continues to be in film and television. She became widely known through television series, leading roles in numerous TV films, and a number of feature films.

She has also performed in chanson and song recitals in Zürich, Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, as well as at the Vienna Festival Weeks and the Kurt Weill Festival in Dessau. She has served as a jury member for film festivals and competitions in musical theatre, chanson, and operetta.

In 1978 and 1979, she was awarded the “Hersfeld Prize”. In 2024, she was honoured for her lifetime achievements with the “Immenhof Film Prize”. In 2025, the German Musical Academy presented her with the “Honorary Award of the German Musical Theatre Prize” for her exceptional lifetime work, and she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the “Eat My Shorts Hagen Short Film Festival”.