Biography
Who is Elke Sommer?
Early life and real name
Elke Sommer was born in Berlin as Elke Schletz. Her father was a Lutheran minister named Baron Peter von Schletz and her mother was Renata. In 1942, the family moved to the village of Niederndorf near Erlangen during the Second World War.
She began attending a gymnasium in 1950. Elke left school in 1957 after finishing middle school. That spring, she moved to London for one year. She worked as an au pair for Vicki Michelle and studied at an English language institute three times a week.
How Elke became famous
Film director Vittorio De Sica found her while she was on holiday in Italy. She started acting in Italian movies in 1958. During that same year, she changed her last name from Schletz to Sommer.
She moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s and became a popular pin up girl. Elke posed for pictorials in the September 1964 and December 1967 issues of Playboy magazine.
Career highlights
Between 1959 and 2005, she made 99 appearances on film and television. In 1964, she won a Golden Globe as Most Promising Newcomer Actress for The Prize. She played the leading lady in The Art of Love, The Oscar, and Deadlier Than the Male.
Other lead roles included The Wrecking Crew and The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz. She appeared on The Tonight Show ten times. She also performed on The Dean Martin Show and was a panelist on Hollywood Squares from 1971 to 1980 with host Peter Marshall.
European films and TV
In the 1970s, she starred in the thriller Zeppelin with Michael York. She appeared in a 1974 remake of Ten Little Indians. She also acted in two Mario Bava horror films called Baron Blood and Lisa and the Devil.
In 1975, she played Professor Vrooshka in the British comedy Carry On Behind. She earned 30,000 pounds for the part. In 1979, she acted in The Prisoner of Zenda with Peter Sellers.
Art and later projects
During the 1980s, she hosted a show called The Exciting World of Speed and Beauty. She provided the German voice for Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove. After the 1990s, she focused on painting and speaks seven languages.
Her artwork is influenced by Marc Chagall. In 2001, she received a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.
Personal life and legal cases
Elke Sommer married Joe Hyams in Las Vegas in 1964. They divorced in 1981. In 1989, she met Wolf Walther while acting in the play Tamara. Walther was the managing director of the Essex House hotel in New York City.
They married on August 29, 1993 in Franconia. Wolf Walther is 6 feet 5 inches tall. She has no children and lived in Los Angeles as of May 2017.
Birthday and age
Elke Sommer was born on November 5, 1940, which makes Elke 85 years old today. That birthday falls under the Scorpio sign. Elke shares the date with 33 other famous people.
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