Leopoldine Konstantin

Her most important movie in the USA was Hitchcock's "Notorious (1948).

She was an actress, known for Notorious (1946), Lola Montez (1918) and Die Insel der Seligen (1913). She was married to Geza Herczeg and Alexander Strakosch.

Divorced in 1938, she moved to the United States via Britain. She spoke no English at that time, and had to take a job as a factory worker until, after intensive language study, she landed a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 film Notorious, in which she played Claude Rains' mother, although she was only 3 years older than he.

In 1935 she followed her husband Geza Herczeg to Austria and played among other things in "Andere Welt" (1937).

In the late 20s the hard work payed and the criticism reacted by surprise onto her sensitive realization in the play "Finden Sie, dass sich Constanze richtig verhält?" (1928).

In 1924 she married Hungarian counselor and author Géza Herczeg.

In 1923 she had a house built in Westerland for herself and her son Alexander.

Between 1921 and 1933 she didn't shot any movies but concentrated more on the theater.

Since 1912 she acted on the Berliner Reinhardt stage but after a lawsuit with Reinhardt she changed to Vienna in 1916; not till 1919 she returned to Berlin.

The actress Leopoldine Konstantin achieved the attention of the criticism in 1910 for the first time when she played Maria in the play "Gawan" in Berlin.

Austrian theatre and film character actress, on stage at the Deutsche Theater in Berlin from 1907. Acted in German sound films during the first half of the 1930's, before moving to Britain and then to the United States. Best remembered internationally for her sole Hollywood film role, as the autocratic, venomous mother of Claude Rains (who was just three years her junior) in Hitchcock's Notorious (1946).

Leopoldine Konstantin was born on March 12, 1886 in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary as Leopoldine Eugenie Amelie Konstantin.