Christel Bodenstein
Christel Bodenstein (13 October 1938 – 5 December 2024) was a German film and television actress. She appeared in many East German (GDR) productions and is best known outside Germany for her leading role as the young princess in The Singing Ringing Tree (1957).
Also recorded as Christa Bodenstein
Christel Bodenstein

Hochneder, Christa · Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-C0712-0002-008 / CC-BY-SA 3.0 · This image was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) as part of a cooperation project. The German Federal Archive guarantees an authentic representation · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
- Name
- Christel Bodenstein
- Born
- 13 October 1938
- Birthplace
- Munich, Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria, Germany
- Died
- 5 December 2024
- Occupation
- Actress
- Spouse
- Hasso von Lenski
- Nationality
- Germany
- Languages
- German
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Christel Bodenstein (13 October 1938 – 5 December 2024) was a German film and television actress. She appeared in many East German (GDR) productions and is best known outside Germany for her leading role as the young princess in The Singing Ringing Tree (1957).
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Christel Bodenstein was an actress and musician, of German nationality. The actress was born in Munich and died in Berlin. Christel Bodenstein worked in German Democratic Republic and Germany. Languages used include German.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 30 September 2026
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wikidata · Q1078277 · wikipedia · Christel Bodenstein
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Christel Bodenstein • Born — 13 October 1938 • Birthplace — Munich, Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria, Germany • Died — 5 December 2024 • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1956–1991 • Spouse — Hasso von Lenski
Life and career
Life and career
In 1949 she moved to Leipzig in the GDR with her mother. She attended the ballet school of the Leipzig Opera and the State Ballet School, Berlin and became a ballet dancer. She met the film director Kurt Maetzig who suggested she study acting and screen-test for a film. She then studied acting at the Academy of Film and Television in Potsdam. • Illustration — Bodenstein and Manfred Krug in Beschreibung eines Sommers, 1963 She was married from 1960 to 1978 to the director Konrad Wolf and they had a son Mirko in 1961. Her second marriage was to the actor and playwright Hasso von Lenski. Bodenstein died on 5 December 2024, at the age of 86.
Selected filmography
Selected filmography
• The Captain from Cologne (1956) • Das tapfere Schneiderlein (1956) • The Singing Ringing Tree (1957) • The Punch Bowl (1959) • New Year's Eve Punch (1960), sequel to The Punch Bowl (1959). • Midnight Revue (1962) • Viel Lärm um nichts (1964)

For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Zentralbild-DEFA Ge-At. AV v. 14.1.1963 Der DEFA-Film "Beschreibung eines Sommers"... nach dem Roman von Karl-Heinz Jakobs, wird als Beitrag zum VI. Parteitag der SED am 15.1.1963 im Berliner Colosseum uraufgeführt. Christel Bodenstein u
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-B0114-0003-003 / CC-BY-SA 3.0 · This image was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) as part of a cooperation project. The German Federal Archive guarantees an authentic representation

For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Zentralbild-DEFA Ge-At. 14.1.1963 Der DEFA-Film "Beschreibung eines Sommers"... nach dem Roman von Karl-Heinz Jakobs, wird als Beitrag zum VI. Parteitag der SED am 15.1.1963 im Berliner Colosseum uraufgeführt. Christel Bodenstein und Man
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-B0114-0008-001 / CC-BY-SA 3.0 · This image was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) as part of a cooperation project. The German Federal Archive guarantees an authentic representation
Places
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Places
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Christel Bodenstein was born at Munich.
Birthplace
Christel Bodenstein died at Berlin.
Deathplace
Munich.
Birth place
Berlin.
Death place
Primary material
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reference work
- “Christel Bodenstein”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1078277: Christel Bodenstein
General reference · Wikidata
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reference work
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General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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