Actress. A noted child star, she went on a significant movie career in Germany and Austria. Raised in Prague, she took to show business early and from age six was a regular on the long-running Czech television series "Pan Tau". She appeared in the 1976 film feature "Nezbedna Pohadka" and had notable roles in 1977's "Long Live the Ghosts" and the 1979 "Arabella", but achieved her major break-through in 1982's "A Piece of Heaven" in which she played Janina, a Jewish teenager rescued by Nuns, in the process earning two of German films' most prized awards, the Adolf Grimme and the Golden Camera. Dana had a small part in Milos Forman's 1984 Oscar-winner "Amadeus", then 1986 married producer Joseph Vilsmeier and was to star in a number of his films including a 1987 movie version of "Pan Tau, the 1988 award winning "Herbsmilch" ("Autumn Milk"), and 1993's "Stalingrad". She was praised for her performance in 1995's "Brother of Sleep", over her career made around 30 movies, was bestowed the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and took her final bow as a refugee in the 2008 made-for-television "Die Gustloff". Dana died of cancer; always sensitive about her Czech accent, she took elocution lessons until the final weeks of her illness.
Actress. A noted child star, she went on a significant movie career in Germany and Austria. Raised in Prague, she took to show business early and from age six was a regular on the long-running Czech television series "Pan Tau". She appeared in the 1976 film feature "Nezbedna Pohadka" and had notable roles in 1977's "Long Live the Ghosts" and the 1979 "Arabella", but achieved her major break-through in 1982's "A Piece of Heaven" in which she played Janina, a Jewish teenager rescued by Nuns, in the process earning two of German films' most prized awards, the Adolf Grimme and the Golden Camera. Dana had a small part in Milos Forman's 1984 Oscar-winner "Amadeus", then 1986 married producer Joseph Vilsmeier and was to star in a number of his films including a 1987 movie version of "Pan Tau, the 1988 award winning "Herbsmilch" ("Autumn Milk"), and 1993's "Stalingrad". She was praised for her performance in 1995's "Brother of Sleep", over her career made around 30 movies, was bestowed the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and took her final bow as a refugee in the 2008 made-for-television "Die Gustloff". Dana died of cancer; always sensitive about her Czech accent, she took elocution lessons until the final weeks of her illness.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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