Anna Karina
Biography
Anna Karina was a Danish-born film actress, director, and screenwriter who spent most of her working life in France. Born Hanne Karin Blarke Bayer on September 22, 1940, in Solbjerg, Denmark, she was known as a muse of director Jean-Luc Godard, a pioneer of the French New Wave. Her notable collaborations with Godard include The Little Soldier in 1960, A Woman Is a Woman in 1961, and Vivre sa vie in 1962. For A Woman Is a Woman, she won the Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival. In 1972, she set up a production company for her directorial debut Vivre ensemble in 1973, which screened at the 26th Cannes Film Festival. She also directed the French-Canadian film Victoria in 2008. She passed away on December 14, 2019.
Career overview
Anna Karina, born Hanne Karin Blarke Bayer on September 22, 1940, in Solbjerg, Denmark, was a film actress, director, and screenwriter who spent most of her working life in France. As a sixteen-year-old, she debuted before the film camera in the Danish short film Pigen og skoene, directed by Ibs Smedes, which was screened at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival. She became known as a muse of director Jean-Luc Godard, who was one of the pioneers of the French New Wave. Her notable collaborations with Godard include the films The Little Soldier from 1960, A Woman Is a Woman from 1961, and Vivre sa vie from 1962. For her performance in A Woman Is a Woman, she won the Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival.
In 1972, Karina established a production company for her directorial debut, Vivre ensemble, which was released in 1973 and screened in the Critics' Week lineup at the twenty-sixth Cannes Film Festival. She also directed the French-Canadian film Victoria, which was released in 2008. Karina passed away on December 14, 2019, at the age of 79.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full filmography
- Proust Palimpsesto: Pastiches e Misturas (2026) as Nana Kleinfrankenheim / Odile (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Sang titre (2025) as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- The Wild Palms (2025) as Paula Nelson
- L'Âge d'or de la pub (2023) as Self (archive footage)
- Godard Cinema (2023) as Self (archive footage)
- Quantum Cowboys (2023) as Blacky's Memory
- Sem Título #8: Vai Sobreviver (2022) as (archive footage)
- Anna and the Jellyfish (2020) as Self (archive footage)
- Anna Karina, Remember (2020) as Self
- Philippe R. Doumic - Sous son regard l'étincelle (2019) as Self
- Lilos Lachen - Das erstaunliche Leben der Liselotte Pulver (2019) as Self
- Every Day Words Disappear (2015) as (archive footage)
- Brigitte Bardot: The Icon of France (2009)
- Victoria (2008) as Victoria
- Victoria (2008) Director
- Victoria (2008) Writer
- To Each His Own Cinema (2007) as (segment "Artaud Double Bill") (archive footage)
- French Beauty (2005) as Self (archive footage)
- I, Cesar (2003) as Gloria
- The Truth About Charlie (2002) as Karina
- The Truth About Charlie (2002) Thanks
- In the Darkness of Time (2002) as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Nom de code : Sacha (2001) as Anna Karina
- Set Me Free (1999) as Nana Kleinfrankenheim (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Godard on TV: 1960-2000 (1999) as Self (archive footage)
- Anna (1998) as Anna
- Birth of a Nation (1997) as Self
- Chloé (1996) as Katia
- Up, Down, Fragile (1995) as Sarah
- Dark Galaxy (1993) as (archive footage)
- Cinéma! Cinéma! The French New Wave (1992) as Self
- Manden der ville være skyldig (1990) as Edith
- The Abyss (1988) as Catherine
- Sacrée soirée (1987) as Self
- Matin Bonheur (1987) as Self
- Last Song (1987) as Susan
- Cayenne Palace (1987) as Lola
- Blockhaus USA (1986)
- Treasure Island (1986) as Mother
- Ave Maria (1984) as Berthe Granjeux
- A Friend of Vincent (1983) as Eleonore
- Champs-Elysées (1982) as Self
- Regina Roma (1982) as Regina
- The Story of a Mother (1979) as Christine Olsen
- Ciné regards (1978) as Self
- Ausgerechnet Bananen (1978) as Natascha
- Just Like at Home (1978) as Anna
- Madame le Juge (1978) as Emma
- Surprise Sock (1978) as Nathalie
- Chinese Roulette (1977) as Irene Cartis
- The Musician Killer (1976) as Louise
- Scrambled Eggs (1976) as Clara Dutilleul
- Les Rendez-vous du dimanche (1975) as Self
- Bread and Chocolate (1974) as Elena
- Morel's Invention (1974) as Faustine
- Living Together (1973) as Julie Andersen
- Living Together (1973) Director
- Living Together (1973) Writer
- Living Together (1973) Producer
- Midi trente (1972) as Self
- The Salzburg Connection (1972) as Anna Bryant
- Appointment in Bray (1971) as Elle
- Carlos (1971) as Clara
- The Wedding Ring (1971) as Jeanne
- The Time to Die (1970) as The Young Woman
- Michael Kohlhaas - The Rebel (1969) as Elisabeth Kohlhaas
- Before Winter Comes (1969) as Maria
- Justine (1969) as Melissa
- Laughter in the Dark (1969) as Margot
- The Magus (1968) as Anne
- Tender Sharks (1967) as Elena / Costa
- Lamiel (1967) as Lamiel
- The Nun (1967) as Suzanne
- Made in U.S.A (1967) as Paula Nelson
- The Oldest Profession (1967) as Natasha (segment "Anticipation, ou l'amour en l'an 2000")
- The Stranger (1967) as Marie Cardona
- Anticipation, or Love in the Year 2000 (1967) as Natasha
- A Propos D'Un Crime (1967) as Self
- Carl Th. Dreyer (1966) as Self (uncredited)
- Pierrot le Fou (1965) as Marianne Renoir
- Alphaville (1965) as Natacha von Braun
- Cinéastes de notre temps : Carl Th. Dreyer (1965) as Self / Narrator
- The Camp Followers (1965) as Elenitza
- Panorama: Jean-Paul Belmondo, 1965 (1965) as Self
- The Thief of Tibadabo (1965) as Maria
- Husband for Sale (1965) as Béatrice Reinhof
- Band of Outsiders (1964) as Odile
- All About Loving (1964) as Hélène
- Circle of Love (1964) as Rose
- La Nouvelle Vague par elle-même (1964) as Self
- Scheherazade (1963) as Shéhérazade
- The Lovely Month of May (1963) as Self (uncredited)
- Le Petit Soldat (1963) as Veronica Dreyer
- Sweet and Sour (1963) as Ginette
- Z-Cars (1962) as Lady Customer (uncredited)
- Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962) as Anna, The Blonde Bride / Actress in Silent Film
- Vivre Sa Vie (1962) as Nana Kleinfrankenheim
- Sun in Your Eyes (1962) as Emma
- The Four Truths (1962) as Colombe (segment "Le corbeau et le renard")
- Fiancés on the Bridge (1962) as Anna, The Blonde Girl
- She'll Have to Go (1962) as Toni Oberon
- Petit Jour (1962) as Self
- A Woman Is a Woman (1961) as Angela
- Tonight or Never (1961) as Valérie
- Discorama (1959) as Self
- Pigen og skoene (1959)
- Cinépanorama (1956) as Self
- Presentation, or Charlotte and Her Steak (1951) as Clara (voice)