Background:

Lavinia Wilson is a German actress and producer. She is notable for her performances on  German films like “Gun-shy” (2003),  “Alone” (2004) and “Free to Leave” (2007) and on the German television film “Frau Böhm sagt Nein” (2009). She appeared as Sasha Prillo's mother in the American movie “Æon Flux” (2005).     


Munich Girl

Childhood and Family:

Lavinia Wilson was born on March 8, 1980, in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Her father, an American archaeologist, named her Lavinia after a king's daughter in the Greek mythology. She studied politics, philosophy and archeology in Munich, but quit after three months. She later received a degree in modern dance.


Alone

Career:

Lavinia Wilson made her first feature film appearance in the multiple award winning German drama “Leise Schatten” (1992), which was directed and written by Sherry Hormann. In the following year, she debuted on the small screen with a significant role as Rebecca in the thriller movie “Todesreigen,” opposite Lena Stolze and Walter Kreye. Wilson went on to appear in TV movies like “Helmut Zierl Special” (1995), “Das erste Mal” (1996), “Eine ungehorsame Frau” (1998, portrayed Andrea (16-19 year)), “Zimmer mit Frühstück” (2000), “20.13 - Mord im Blitzlicht” (2000), “Vier Meerjungfrauen” (2001) and “Der Wannsee-Mörder” (2002). She also made a guest appearance in an episode of “Ein starkes Team” (2001).

Following roles on two short films, “Waxwing” (1998) and “Poppen” (1999), Wilson returned to features by playing the supporting role of Teresa in the comedy film “No More School” (2000), which starred Daniel Brühl, Jasmin Schwiers, Niels-Bruno Schmidt, and then having the title role on the drama/romance “Julietta” (2001), which won the Chameleon for Best Feature at the 2002 Brooklyn International Film Festival and the Directors' Week Award for Best Director at the 2002 Fantasporto. In 2003, she was cast as Isabella in the German thriller/crime movie “Gun-shy,” directed by Dito Tsintsadze. The role brought her a nomination for Best Actress at the 2004 Nuremberg Film Festival “Turkey-Germany”. The actress earned further attention for her starring turn as Maria in the 2004 drama film “Alone,” where she also took home the Best Young Actress Award at the 2005 Max Ophüls Festival as well as a nomination for Best actress at the 2005 Nuremberg Film Festival “Turkey-Germany” her performance.

In 2005, Wilson made her Hollywood debut with the film adaptation of “Æon Flux,” where she played the role of Sasha Prillo's Mother. The film, which starred Charlize Theron as the title character and was directed by Karyn Kusama, received generally negative reviews from critics and was not a success at the box office.  

Wilson kept her presence on German television with roles on films like “Damals warst Du still” (2005), “Vier Meerjungfrauen II - Liebe à la carte” (2006) and “Mutig in die neuen Zeiten - Nur keine Wellen” (2006) and in an episode of the series “Die Familienanwältin”(2006).  In 2005, she was nominated for a New Faces Award for her appearance in the 2004 “Stirb und werde” of “Tatort.” In 2007, she had a recurring role as  Dr. Nadja Heron in the popular crime series “Der letzte Zeuge”.     

Wilson again attracted attention with her portrayal of Anna in “Free to Leave” (2007), a film adaptation of a play by Ödön von Horvath. The role earned her Audience Award for Theatre Audiences (Favorit des Kinopublikums) and a nomination for  Best Young Actress – Film at the 2008 Undine Awards, Austria. She then starred as Sonja in the comedy/drama film “Tandoori Love” (2008) and appeared as Anne in the drama “Lulu and Jimi” (2009), which starred Jennifer Decker, Ray Fearon, Katrin Saß. Wilson could also be seen in the made for TV films “Eine stürmische Bescherung” (2007), “Monogamie für Anfänger” (2008) and “Marie Brand - The Perils of Greed” (2008).    

In 2009, Wilson was cast as Ira Engel in the television film “Frau Böhm sagt Nein,” opposite Senta Berger as Rita Böhm. The film collected many awards, including the Special Award for Best Performance (Beste darstellerische Leistung), which she shared with Berger, and the Adolf Grimme Award for Fiction.  

Wilson remained active on television with works on the TV films “Sea of Death” (2009), “Ein Dorf sieht Mord” (2009), “Lenz” (2009), “Tod einer Schülerin” (2010), “2030 - Aufstand der Jungen” (2010), “Lisas Fluch” (2011), “The Last Fine Day” (2011), “Sechzehneichen” (2012) as well as in episodes of the TV series “Wilsberg” (2011), “Stolberg” (2012), “Rosa Roth” (2012), “Die letzte Spur” (2012), “Flemming” (2012) and “Der Kriminalist” (2012). In the meantime, the actress landed roles on three feature films: “Entzauberungen” (2010), “Weil ich schöner bin” (2012) and “Invasion” (2012). She also produced a short film called “Sunny und Roswitha” (2010).   

In 2013, Wilson played the role of Gisela Ellers in the comedy film “Quellen des Lebens,” directed by Oskar Roehler. Her co-stars in the film included Jürgen Vogel, Meret Becker, Moritz Bleibtreu.


Awards:

Adolf Grimme (Germany): Fiction, “Frau Böhm sagt Nein,” 2010
Baden-Baden TV Film Festival: Special Award, Best Performance (Beste darstellerische Leistung), “Frau Böhm sagt Nein,” 2009
Undine (Austria): Audience Award, Theatre Audiences (Favorit des Kinopublikums), “Free to Leave,” 2008
Max Ophüls Festival: Best Young Actress, “Alone,” 2005
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