An exotic international leading lady, the beautiful Marthe Keller originally harbored dreams of a career as a ballerina. A skiing accident at age 16 dashed those hopes but she found a creative outlet in acting. After studying philosophy and sociology at university in Frankfurt, Germany, the Swiss-born Keller trained for the stage at Munich's Stanislavsky School and Berlin's Brecht Theatre School. She honed her craft in several German TV productions and on stage with the Heidelberg Repertory Company and the Schiller Theatre in Berlin. By 1968, Keller had moved to France where she quickly established her screen reputation in two Philippe de Broca films, "Le Diable pour le queue/The Devil By the Tail" (1968) and "Caprice de Marie/Give Her the Moon" (1969). Solidifying her reputation as a versatile and gifted performer was her turn as three generations in the same family in Claude Lelouch's "Toute une vie/And Now My Love" (1974).Hollywood beckoned and Keller found herself cast opposite name leading men in several high profile features of the mid-decade. "Marathon Man" (1976) teamed her with Dustin Hoffman but the role wasn't much above window dressing. Far more interesting (if a little cliched) was her terrorist in John Frankenheimer's taut "Black Sunday" (1977), though she stumbled badly as Al Pacino's love interest in the misfire "Bobby Deerfield" (also 1977). Her off-screen romance with Pacino somehow did not translate before the cameras and this romantic drama set against the world of auto racing proved dull and lifeless. As a Garboesque movie star in "Fedora" (1978), Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard" redux, Keller was well-cast but lacking that illusive spark that made Gloria Swanson so effective. After a turn as a spy in "The Formula" (1980), the actress gave up on Hollywood and returned to Europe.
Keller remained active on stage in France and continued to do good work in the occasional film, although few of her efforts achieved international renown. One exception was the superb "Dark Eyes" (1987), which cast her as Marcello Mastroianni's mistress. Keller also made appearances as Mrs. William Shirer (opposite Sam Waterston) in the TNT miniseries "The Nightmare Years" (1989) and replaced an ailing Lee Remick as the mother of "Young Catherine" (TNT, 1991). More recently, Keller co-starred as the childhood friend of Genevieve Bujold in the muddled "Mon Amie Max/My Friend Max" (1994) and offered an insightful cameo as a German Jewess in pre-war Europe in "According to Pereira" (1995), again opposite Mastroianni.
Profession(s):
Actor, ballerina
Sometimes Credited As:
Family
son:Alexandre De Broca (father Philippe De Broca)
Companion(s)
Al Pacino
, Companion
, ```..together in the late 1970s; met when they co-starred in "Bobby Deerfield"
Claude Lelouch
, Companion
, ```..together in the early 1970s
Philippe De Broca
, Companion
, ```..together in the late 1960s; father of Keller's son
Felix Best Supporting Actress "Virdzina" 1991
2001 Broadway debut in production of "Judgment at Nuremberg"; earned Tony nomination
1996 Had cameo role in "According to Pereira/Sostiene Pereira", starring Mastroianni
1991 Replaced Lee Remick in the role of Catherine's mother in the TNT miniseries "Young Catherine"
1989 Co-starred with Sam Waterston in the TNT miniseries "The Nightmare Years"; portrayed Tess Shirer
1987 Was featured opposite Marcello Mastroianni in "Dark Eyes"
1984 Had title role in the oratorio "Jopan of Arc at the Stake", performed at Carnegie Hall in NYC
1980 Appeared in "The Formula"
1978 Had title role in Billy Wilder's "Fedora"
1977 Starred opposite Al Pacino in the romantic drama "Bobby Deerfield"
1976 First American film, "Marathon Man", opposite Dustin Hoffman
1974 Had leading role in Claude Lelouch's "Toute une vie/And Now My Love"
1968 Moved to France
1968 First film with Philippe De Broca, "Le Diable pour la queue/The Devil By the Tail"
1966 Feature film debut in "Funeral in Berlin"
At age eight, began studying ballet
A skiiing accident at age 16 ended her dance career
Became a member of a Heidelberg repertory theater company
Appeared in productions at the Schiller Theatre in Berlin, Germany
Appeared in German television productions
Co-starred in the British miniseries "The Charter House of Parma" (aired in the USA on PBS in 1982)