Background
Berben was born in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia. She grew up in Hamburg, where her parents ran a restaurant.
Berben was born in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia. She grew up in Hamburg, where her parents ran a restaurant.
Since then she has been associated with the pro-Israel lobby and has campaigned against antisemitism. She had a son, Oliver, in 1971, but never revealed the identity of the father. In 2010, together with Bruno Ganz she was elected president of the German Film Academy.