Martina Hill German Actress From Berlin

Early life

Martina Hill was born on 14 July 1974 in Berlin and grew up in the district of Wedding. Her mother worked as a nurse and her father drove a subway train. She completed her Abitur in 1995 and afterwards studied drama. Before she became known on television she worked in the theatre in Berlin, with roles in 2000 and 2001 that included Sister Isabella in Die Rund- und die Spitzköpfe, Erna in Kasimir und Karoline, the title role of Medea, and parts in Die Frau auf dem Sockel and Extremities.

Career

Hill appeared in German television films and series during the early 2000s, among them Schwer verknallt in 2003, Der Vater meines Sohnes in 2004, the sketch show Happy Friday that year, and series such as Cologne P.D. in 2005. The breakthrough that brought her national attention came in 2007, when she joined the ensemble of the ProSieben comedy show Switch reloaded. In that programme she became known as a comedian and impersonator, with parodies of public figures such as Heidi Klum, Angela Merkel, Daniela Katzenberger, Gundula Gause and Amy Winehouse, as well as the television character Dr. Temperance Brennan. She stayed with the show until 2012.

In 2009 she began appearing in the heute-show, the German satirical news programme modelled on The Daily Show, where she played the self-described universal expert Tina Hausten and a social media influencer called Larissa. Alongside that work she took parts in television films, including Putzfrau Undercover in 2008, C.I.S. Chaoten im Sondereinsatz and Undercover Love in 2010, and the feature film Resturlaub in 2011. She also took part in the comedy show Cindy aus Marzahn und die jungen Wilden in 2010.

From 2011 she fronted her own sketch comedy series, Knallerfrauen, which became the format most closely associated with her name. The first series also drew a following in China. In 2019 she launched a satirical talk show, the Martina-Hill-Schau, on the German channel SAT.1.

Hill also works as a voice actor and has lent her voice to German versions of several international animated and live-action releases. She dubbed Sheri Moon Zombie as Suzi X in The Haunted World of El Superbeasto in 2009, Emily Mortimer as the spy Holley Shiftwell in Cars 2 in 2011, Kristen Wiig as Lucy in Despicable Me 2 in 2013, and Cate Blanchett as Valka in How to Train Your Dragon 2 in 2014.

Among her screen credits, the heute-show, Knallerfrauen and Switch reloaded are the television series that appear most often in reference sources.

Recognition

Hill has received a long list of German television and comedy honours, many of them as a member of the shows she belongs to. The Deutscher Comedypreis recognised Switch reloaded in the sketch comedy category in 2007 and 2008, and the heute-show in the best comedy show category in 2009, 2010 and 2011. She received the Deutscher Comedypreis for best actress in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

The Deutscher Fernsehpreis went to Switch reloaded in 2008 and to the heute-show in 2010, and in 2012 it honoured Knallerfrauen as best comedy show. The heute-show also earned an Adolf-Grimme-Preis in 2010 in the entertainment category. She won a Bambi in the comedy category in 2012, and in 2014 the Bambi went to the heute-show. A Romy television award is also on her record, and in 2009 the Romy gave a special jury prize to Switch reloaded.

Public roles

On television, Hill is the host of her own talk show on SAT.1 and the lead of the sketch series Knallerfrauen. Her popularity with viewers outside Germany, especially in China, came through that sketch format.