Corinna Harfouch (born 16 October 1954) is a German actress. Widely regarded as one of the most important performers in German film and theatre, she is known for her portrayals of complex, often emotionally layered characters across more than four decades on stage and screen. Among her most beloved and unexpected performances is her turn as Rabia in Bibi Blocksberg, in which her scene-stealing energy has since been embraced by audiences as camp and iconic, earning her a cult following and status as an unlikely queer icon. For this performance, she received the German Film Award (Lola) for Best Supporting Actress in 2003. Trained at the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst “Ernst Busch” in Berlin, Harfouch began her career in theatre before transitioning to film and television, where she has appeared in over 80 productions. Her early breakthrough came with Die Schauspielerin (1988), followed by roles in films such as Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997), Der Untergang (2004), Das Parfum: Die Geschichte eines Mörders (2006), Finsterworld (2013), and Lara (2019). She has also been part of the long-running crime series Tatort since 2023. Among her numerous accolades, Harfouch has received the Bavarian Film Award, the Adolf Grimme Award, the German Television Award, and the German Film Award. She won Best Actress at the Shanghai International Film Festival for Frei nach Plan (2007) and received the German Film Award for Best Actress in 2024 for Sterben. In addition to her screen work, Harfouch is an acclaimed stage actress, performing at major theatres including the Deutsches Theater Berlin, the Berliner Ensemble, and the Volksbühne. In 1997, she was named Actress of the Year by Theater heute and awarded the Gertrud-Eysoldt-Ring for her performance in Des Teufels General. Born in Suhl, East Germany, Harfouch initially trained as a nurse before studying acting. She has three children, including actor Robert Gwisdek.

Filmography

• 202623 000 Lives — Mrs. Gans
• 2026Gefahrengebiet — Susanne Bonard
• 2026In My Mother's Mirror — Ursula Scheuer
• 2026Let Sleeping Dogs Lie — Marianne
• 2025Kundschafter des Friedens 2 — Helene
• 2024Die Ironie des Lebens — Eva
• 2024Dying — Lissy Lunies
• 2024The Boy Who Owns the World — Edna
• 2023The Boyfriend — Henriette
• 2022Bloodsuckers — Tante Erkentrud
• 2022Mostly Minimalistic — Marlen
• 2022The Girl With the Golden Hands — Gudrun
• 2022What You Can See from Here — Selma
• 2022Zwischen uns — Child psychologist
• 2021Immer der Nase nach — Imke
• 2021Ruhe! Hier stirbt Lothar — Rosa
• 2 Minuten — Dr. Vogel
• Holiday Secrets
• 2019Kranke Geschäfte
• 2019Lara — Lara
• 2019Persona — Schwester Alma
• Berlin - Schicksalsjahre einer Stadt — Sprecherin
• 2018Cloud Whispers — Charlotte
• 2018Right Here Right Now — Innensenatorin
• 2017Suck Me Shakespeer 3 — Kerstin BIZ
• 2017Too Close — Caro
• 2016Emma nach Mitternacht - Frau Hölle — Katharina Holl
• 2016The Missing Woman — Karen
• Blochin – Die Lebenden und die Toten — Tilda
• 2015Jack — Susanne Sönnmann
• 2014Der Fall Bruckner — Katharina Bruckner
• 2013Finsterworld — Inga Sandberg
• 2013Puppe — Geena
• 2012Cracks in the Shell — Nina
• 2012Home for the Weekend — Gitte Heidtmann
• 2012Ihr Brief zur Hochzeit — Hannah
• 2012Moon Man — Conquistadora (voice)
• 2012Move — Mutter
• 2012Schmidt & Schwarz — Carolin Schwarz
• 2011Faust Sonnengesang — (voice)
• 2011Kein Sex ist auch keine Lösung — Theresa
• 2011Looking for Simon — Valerie
• 2010Tod einer Schülerin — Susanne Berger
• 2009Ein Dorf sieht Mord — Maria Bonk
• 2009Hand in Hand — Heike Laurens
• 2009Julia's Disappearance — Giulia
• 2009This Is Love — Maggie
• 2009Whiskey with Vodka — Bettina Moll
• 2008A Year Ago in Winter — Eliane Richter
• 2008Berlin Calling — Prof. Dr. Petra Paul
• 2008Meine Mutter, mein Bruder und ich! — Susanne
• Teufelsbraten — Wachtel
• 2007According to Plan — Iris
• 2007An die Grenze — Frau Dobbs
• 2007Free to Leave — Hanni Hudetz
• 2006Helen, Fred und Ted — Biggie Schwarz
• Helen, Fred und Ted — Biggie Schwarz
• 2006My Father The Turk — Sprecherin
• 2006Perfume: The Story of a Murderer — Madame Arnulfi
• 2006Rage — Christa Laub
• 2006Silberhochzeit — Alexandra
• 2006The Elementary Particles — Dr. Schäfer
• 2005Rose — Rose Steher
• 2005Through This Night — Bozena Nemcová
• 2004Bibi Blocksberg and the Secret of Blue Owls — Rabia von Katzenstein
• 2004C(r)ook — Maria
• 2004Die fremde Frau — Helen Berg
• 2004Downfall — Magda Goebbels
• 2003Hamlet_X — Gertrude
• 2002Bibi Blocksberg — Rabia
• Blond: Eva Blond! — Eva Blond
• Das Duo — Anna Mundorf
• 2002Gebürtig — Else Sachs
• 2002The Bunny Guards vs. the Forces of Evil — Frau Schmächtig
• 2002Verrückt nach Paris — Frau Hermann
• 2001Das Monstrum — Helene
• Vera Brühne — Vera Brühne
• 2000Fandango - Members Only — Duke
• 2000Now or Never — Flora
• 2000Stunde des Wolfs — Gisela Grosche
• 1999Bis zum Horizont und weiter — Beate Nelken
• 1999The Devil and Ms. D — Cora Dulz
• 1999The Green Desert — Krankenschwester
• Der letzte Zeuge — Malia Reh
• 1998Solo for Clarinet — Anna Weller
• 1998The Big Mambo — Maria
• 1997Des Teufels General — Fliegergeneral Harras
• 1997Geisterstunde - Fahrstuhl ins Jenseits — Lisa Mosdi
• 1997Knockin' on Heaven's Door — Ward B Nurse
• 19965 Stunden Angst – Geiselnahme im Kindergarten — Viviane Sperling
• 1996Gates of Fire — Stromberg
• 1996Gefährliche Freundin — Bibi Bratseth
• 1996Irren ist männlich — Bettina
• 1996Sexy Sadie — Lucy / Sadie
• 1996Verdammt, er liebt mich — Paula
• 1996Wer anhält stirbt — Heike
• 1995The Promise — Sophie II
• 1994Charlie & Louise - Das doppelte Lottchen — Sabine Kröger
• 1994Farewell to Agnes — Agnes
• 1994Stockholm Marathon — Monica Lundin
• Ärzte — Vera Haeusler
• Bella Block — Bianca Kling
• 1993Goldstaub — Kerstin
• 1993Inge, April und Mai
• 1992Die Spur des Bernsteinzimmers — Lisa Mohrbrink
• 1992Thea und Nat — Thea Friedberg
• Unser Lehrer Doktor Specht — Dr. Lilo von Barnim
• 1991Hüpf, Häschen, hüpf — Ms. Daniels
• 1991The Tango Player — Elke
• 1991Zwischen Pankow und Zehlendorf — Isolde Wünsche
• 1989Pestalozzi's Mountain — Juliette Benoit
• 1989Reunion in Travers — Therese Forster
• 1988Fallada: The Last Chapter — Else-Marie Bukonje
• 1988The Actress — Maria Rheine
• 1988Yasemin — Frau Rathjens
• 1987Der kleine Staatsanwalt — Frau Meffert
• 1987Wengler & Sons — Jenny Weinhold
• 1986The House on the River — Emmi Voß
• 1983Verzeihung, sehen Sie Fußball? — Michaela
• 1981Die lange Ankunft des Alois Fingerlein
• 1979Verlobung in Hullerbusch — Schwester Erika
• Polizeiruf 110 — Sonja
• Scene of the Crime — Dr. Lore Ewers, Anna Cordes, Valerie, Conny Seegmeister, Sabine Korsack, Martha Kandis, Susanne Bonard, Barbara
• Brennende Themen — Ms. Platek
• Kiss Kiss Wolf
• Manchmal sehe ich ihn nachts — Corinna

Appearances as themselves (11)

• 2020Schlingensief – A Voice That Shook the Silence — Self (archive footage)
• 2018Ingmar Bergman - Herr der Dämonen — Self - Narrator (voice)
• Deutscher Hörbuchpreis — Self
• 2005Hitler's Final Days: The Movie 'Downfall' — Self
• Deutscher Fernsehpreis — Self
• Blauer Panther — Self
• Goldene Kamera — Self
• Wetten, dass..? — Self
• Bavarian Film Awards — Self
• Grimme Award — Self
• German Film Award — Self