Elsa Wagner
Elsa Wagner (24 January 1881 – 17 August 1975) was a German actress who appeared in numerous theatrical productions and feature films during the 20th century, including 1920's The Cabinet of Dr.
Elsa Wagner

Albert Witzel · Public domain
- Name
- Elsa Wagner
- Birth Name
- Elisabeth Karoline Auguste Wagner
- Born
- 24 January 1881
- Birthplace
- Reval, Russian Empire
- Died
- 17 August 1975
- Place of death
- West Berlin, West Germany
- Occupation
- Actress
- Nationality
- German Empire · Weimar Republic · West Germany
- Honours
- Ernst Reuter Medal · German Film Honorary Award · Berliner Kunstpreis · German Film Award · Filmband in Gold
- Languages
- German
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Elsa Wagner (24 January 1881 – 17 August 1975) was a German actress who appeared in numerous theatrical productions and feature films during the 20th century, including 1920's The Cabinet of Dr.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Elsa Wagner (1881–1975) was an actor, actress and choir singer, among other activities and a national of the German Empire and Nazi Germany. Born in Tallinn, the actor died in West Berlin. Elsa Wagner worked in Germany.
Languages used include German. The actor received Berliner Kunstpreis, Ernst Reuter Medal and Filmband in Gold, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Elsa Wagner. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q110721 · wikipedia · Elsa Wagner
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Elsa Wagner • Birth Name — Elisabeth Karoline Auguste Wagner • Born — 24 January 1881 • Birthplace — Reval, Russian Empire • Died — 17 August 1975 • Place of death — West Berlin, West Germany • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1916–1973
Life and career
Life and career
• Illustration — Elsa Wagner and Herma Clement performing their roles as attendants to Queen Luise (Emmy Sonnemann) in Hans Schwarz's 1935 Prinz von Preussen (Prince of Prussia). • Illustration — Grave in Friedhof Dahlem in Berlin-Dahlem Born as Elisabeth Karoline Auguste Wagner on 24 January 1881 in Reval, in what is now Tallinn, Estonia, Elsa Wagner pursued training with Maria Spettini in Saint Petersburg, Russia prior to making her acting debut in Berlin, Germany in 1901. In addition to her performances on tour with multiple theater productions, including Faust and Peer Gynt, she went on to secure roles in more than 140 feature films, including Robert Wiene's Das Cabinet Des Dr. Caligari (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) and Karl Heinz Martin's Von Morgens bis Mitternachts (From Morn to Midnight) in 1920, F. W. Murnau's 1922 Das Brennende Acker (The Burning Earth), Gerhard Lamprecht's Die Buddenbrooks and Wiene's I.N.R.I. in 1923, and E. R. Dupont's 1929 Atlantik. Wagner died in Berlin on 17 August 1975 and was interred at the Cemetery Dahlem.
Selected filmography
Selected filmography
• The Wandering Light (1916) • The Foreign Prince (1918) • The Rosentopf Case (1918) • The Victors (1918) • The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1918) • Ruth's Two Husbands (1919) • Anita Jo (1919) • The Living Dead (1919) • The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) • Satanas (1920) • The Night of Queen Isabeau (1920) • The Marquise of Armiani (1920) • The Golden Crown (1920) • Monika Vogelsang (1920) • The Closed Chain (1920) • Comrades (1921) • Wandering Souls (1921) • Barmaid (1922) • The Treasure of Gesine Jacobsen (1923) • I.N.R.I. (1923) • The Found Bride (1925) • If Only It Weren't Love (1925) • A Free People (1925) • One Minute to Twelve (1925) • People to Each Other (1926) • Children of No Importance (1926) • The Master of Nuremberg (1927) • The Sporck Battalion (1927) • The Girl with the Five Zeros (1927) • Lotte (1928) • The Old Fritz (1928) • Violantha (1928) • Luther (1928) • The Burning Heart (1929) • Marriage in Trouble (1929) • Rustle of Spring (1929) • Atlantik (1929) • The Trunks of Mr. O.F. (1931) • The Song of Life (1931) • Three from the Unemployment Office (1932) • The Eleven Schill Officers (1932) • What Men Know (1933) • Music in the Blood (1934) • Hundred Days (1935) • The Girl Irene (1936) • Moscow-Shanghai (1936) • The Divine Jetta (1937) • Daphne and the Diplomat (1937) • Ball at the Metropol (1937) • Capers (1937) • Unternehmen Michael (1937) • Dangerous Game (1937) • Anna Favetti (1938) • You and I (1938) • Freight from Baltimore (1938) • Dance on the Volcano (1938) • Target in the Clouds (1939) • Her First Experience (1939) • The Leghorn Hat (1939) • Police Report (1939) • Heimkehr (1941) • The Waitress Anna (1941) • A Gust of Wind (1942) • Front Theatre (1942) • The Impostor (1944) • Life Calls (1944) • A Beautiful Day (1944) • Tell the Truth (1946) • And the Heavens Above Us (1947) • Wozzeck (1947) • No Place for Love (1947) • Thank You, I'm Fine (1948) • Night of the Twelve (1949) • The Marriage of Figaro (1949) • Christina (1953) • Love's Awakening (1953) • The Stronger Woman (1953) • Before God and Man (1955) • La Paloma (1959) • Crime After School (1959) • The Haunted Castle (1960) • Sweetheart of the Gods (1960) • Emil and the Detectives (1964) • Our Willi Is the Best (1971) • The Pedestrian (1973)
Identity
Identity
Elsa Wagner is recorded with the occupation choir singer. Recorded with the occupation stage actor. Recorded as having received Ernst Reuter Medal, German Film Honorary Award and Berliner Kunstpreis. Recognition and collections. Wagner received Ernst Reuter Medal, German Film Honorary Award, Berliner Kunstpreis, German Film Award and Filmband in Gold.
![For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Scherl [Berlin] Emmy Sonnemann als Königin Luise mit (ihrer Oberhofmeisterin) Elsa Wagner und Herma Clement in einer Scene aus "Prinz von Preussen" von Hans Schwarz im Staatl. Schauspielhaus. Regie Löthar Müthel 9597-35](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-2005-1206-501%2C_Emmy_Sonnemann_als_K%C3%B6nigin_Luise.jpg/798px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-2005-1206-501%2C_Emmy_Sonnemann_als_K%C3%B6nigin_Luise.jpg)
For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Scherl [Berlin] Emmy Sonnemann als Königin Luise mit (ihrer Oberhofmeisterin) Elsa Wagner und Herma Clement in einer Scene aus "Prinz von Preussen" von Hans Schwarz im Staatl. Schauspielhaus. Regie Löthar Müthel 9597-35
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-2005-1206-501 / 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

Original image description from the Deutsche Fotothek Szenenbilder
Abraham Pisarek · Deutsche Fotothek
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1881
Elsa Wagner was born on 24 January 1881.
1975
Elsa Wagner died on 17 August 1975.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Tallinn.
Birth place
West Berlin.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Elsa Wagner”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q110721: Elsa Wagner
Unverified · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Elsa Wagner.
- 2.Robinson, David. "Das Cabinet Des Dr. Caligari", in British Film Institute Classics, Vol. 1, p. 28 of pp.1-28. London, United Kingdom: Fitzroy Deaborn: An Imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, 1997.
- 3."Wagner, Elsa, Actress" (photo with short bio). Seattle, Washington: Getty Images, retrieved online August 31, 2018.
- 4.Eisner, Lotte H. The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt, pp. 349, 351, 354. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 1969.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
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 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,408 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Elsa MartinelliPerson
- Elsa PatakyPerson
- Elsa PinillaPerson
- Elsa SaisioPerson
- Elsa ZylbersteinPerson
- Else RevalPerson
- Elsie AlbiinPerson
- Elsie BakerPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Elsa Wagner?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.