Background
Ruth Stephan was born to retail merchant Kurt Stephan and his wife Kriemhilde.
Ruth Stephan was born to retail merchant Kurt Stephan and his wife Kriemhilde.
She appeared with Heinz Erhardt in the "Willi" series of films. After graduating from school she first worked as a certified bank teller before taking acting lessons. During her early acting career she worked mostly in the stage in Germany, including theaters in Hamburg and Berlin.
She appeared in her first movie in 1951 which made her career heading into a different direction.
She was side-tracked into films and became a popular face of German comedy movies. In the early 1970s Ruth Stephan went back to the stage - working more in theaters again.
She died of lung cancer in August 1975. A street in the district of Berlin-Spandau is named after her.
