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Liselotte Pulver, born on October 11, 1929, in Bern as the daughter of a civil engineer, attended a business school for daughters from 1945 to 1948, graduating with a diploma. She then worked as a mannequin and trained as an actress at the Bern Conservatory under Margarethe Schell von Noé. Pulver made her stage debut at the Bern City Theater. From 1949 to 1951, she performed at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, followed by numerous guest appearances and tours.
Pulver made her film debut in 1949 with a small role in Leopold Lindtberg's "Swiss Tour." In 1950, she was signed by Hamburg film producer F.A. Mainz and starred alongside Hans Albers in the mountain drama "Föhn" ("The White Hell of Pitz Palu"), directed by Rolf Hansen. In 1952, she appeared in the crime comedy "Klettermaxe", her first collaboration with director Kurt Hoffmann. After several less successful films, such as the marital comedy "Ich und Du", Pulver's career soared with her role as the maid and farmer's wife Vreneli in Franz Schnyder's adaptations of Gotthelf's "Uli der Knecht" (" Uli, the Servant", 1954) and "Uli der Pächter" ("Uli, the Tenant", 1955).
In 1956, Pulver was awarded the Prix Femina in Ostend for her performances in "Der letzte Sommer" ("The Last Summer", 1954) and as the titular character in Hoffmann's romantic comedy "Ich denke oft an Piroschka" ("I Often Think of Piroschka", 1955), which made her a star and the "prototype of the fresh, boyish, yet charming young woman of 1950s cinema" (I. Schmid, Stuttgarter Zeitung). Hoffmann's film also gained her international recognition. In the following years, she starred alongside O.E. Hasse in Jacques Becker's caper film "Les aventures d'Arsène Lupin" ("The Millionaire Thief", 1957), in Douglas Sirk's adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's "A Time to Love and a Time to Die" (1958), and alongside Gérard Philipe in Claude Autant-Lara's adaptation of Dostoevsky's "Le joueur" ("The Gambler", 1958).
A Hollywood stint in 1958 ended without a contract, though Pulver received offers for roles in "Ben Hur" by William Wyler and "El Cid" by Anthony Mann, which she had to decline due to other commitments. In German cinema, she played several mischievous and playful roles, excelling as an amateur writer torn between two men in Helmut Käutner's "Die Zürcher Verlobung" ("The Zurich Engagement", 1957) and as an exuberant countess in Hoffmann's successful comedy "Das Wirtshaus im Spessart" ("The Spessart Inn", 1957), for which she won the Silver Filmband at the German Film Awards in 1958. Her performances were more restrained in the Thomas Mann adaptations "Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull" ("Confessions of Felix Krull", 1957) and "Buddenbrooks" (1963).
In 1961, Pulver married actor Helmut Schmid, who had been her co-star in "Gustav Adolfs Page" (1960) and "Kohlhiesels Töchter" ("Kohlhiesel's Daughters", 1962).
From 1961, Pulver appeared in international productions once again. She showcased her impressive slapstick talent in Billy Wilder's initially underrated but later classic East-West satire "One, Two, Three" (1961). She continued filming in France, Spain, and the U.S., portraying Queen Marie Antoinette in "La Fayette" ("Lafayette", 1962) and earning a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the comedy "A Global Affair" (1964) with Bob Hope. She also starred alongside Jean Gabin in the comedy "Monsieur" and portrayed a lesbian abbess in Jacques Rivette's "La religieuse" ("The Nun", 1966), a film that became controversial and is considered a highlight of Pulver's career.
Alongside her film work, Pulver continued to act in theater, appeared in television series and films, and made numerous guest appearances in entertainment shows like "Dalli Dalli" and "Die Montagsmaler". She became beloved by younger audiences as the host of the German "Sesame Street" from 1978 to 1985, co-hosting with Henning Venske and Manfred Krug.
Starting in the 1980s, Pulver's appearances became less frequent, though she took on a leading role as a pastor's wife in the TV series "Mit Leib und Seele" from 1989 to 1991. Her gradual withdrawal from the limelight did not diminish her popularity.
Pulver's personal life was marked by tragedy. In 1989, her daughter Melisande died at the age of 21, and in 1992, her husband Helmut Schmid passed away. Pulver wrote about these events in several autobiographical books, including "...wenn man trotzdem lacht. Tagebuch meines Lebens" (1993).
Among the many honors Pulver has received throughout her career are multiple Bambis, a Golden Globe nomination, an Honorary Award at the German Film Awards in 1980 for her "longstanding and outstanding contributions to German cinema," and the Federal Cross of Merit, First Class (1986).
In the mid-1990s, it briefly appeared that Pulver would return to acting, with notable supporting roles in the TV comedies "Weihnachtsfest mit Hindernissen" (1995) and "Alles gelogen" (1996), as well as a significant role as the mother of Joachim Król in the feature film comedy "Das Superweib" ("The Super Wife", 1996). However, she did not pursue further roles.
In 1999, Pulver received a lifetime achievement award at the Bavarian Film Awards, followed by honorary awards at the Swiss Television Awards in 2008, the SwissAward in 2019, and the Swiss Film Award in 2021.
Her final on-screen appearance was in 2007 when played herself in the TV movie "Die Zürcher Verlobung – Drehbuch zur Liebe", a remake of the 1957 film she had starred in.
In 2016, her autobiographical interview book "Dem Leben ins Gesicht gelacht" was published, followed by "Was vergeht, ist nicht verloren. Drehbuch meines Lebens" in 2019, in which she opened her private archive.
Pulver lives in a retirement residence in Bern, Switzerland.