Helena Zengel

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Helena Zengel
Helena Zengel-1038.jpg
Born (2008-06-10) 10 June 2008 (age 16)
Berlin, Germany
Occupation Actress
Years active2013–present
Website helenazengel.com

Helena Zengel (German: [ˈhɛlenaˈtsɛŋl̩] ; born 10 June 2008) is a German actress. [1] She is best known for her roles in the films System Crasher (2019) and News of the World (2020).

Contents

Early life

Zengel was born and raised in Berlin, Germany, and began her acting career at the age of five in a music video for the Berlin Alternative rock band Abby.

Career

Her first main role in a film, at the age of eight, was in a drama film, Die Tochter (The Daughter), which was shown at the Berlinale 2017. [2] [3] She also had small parts in two episodes of a German TV series, Die Spezialisten – Im Namen der Opfer.

In the drama film System Crasher , written and directed by Nora Fingscheidt, which premiered in February 2019 at the Berlinale, Zengel plays the leading role of "Benni", an aggressive and traumatised nine-year old. [4] In April 2020 she won the German Film Prize for Best Actress. [5]

After System Crasher won a number of international awards, Zengel was cast by Universal Pictures to play a leading role in the American Western film News of the World directed by the British film director Paul Greengrass, which was her first international film. In this adaptation of the 2016 novel of the same name by Canadian-American writer Paulette Jiles, which starred Tom Hanks as Captain Jefferson Kidd, Zengel stars as a 10-year-old German orphan named Johanna Leonberger who was raised by the Kiowa; most of her performance is in the Kiowa language [6] [7] For her performance, Zengel received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. [8] [9] Zengel also dubbed herself in the Italian, [10] German, [11] French [11] and Spanish [11] versions; the dubbing is limited to the lines she spoke in English.

In 2021, Zengel appeared as Nina Cutter in A Christmas Number One alongside Freida Pinto and Iwan Rheon, a heartfelt romantic comedy about a young woman trying to save her uncle from himself before she succumbs to a terminal illness. The film was directed by Chris Cottam and written by Robert Chandler, Keiron Self and Giles New, and features performances by the fictitious artists, 5 Together, Scurve and Ranelle Spear.

In 2023 Zengel starred in the A24 fantasy adventure film The Legend of Ochi acting opposite Willem Dafoe. [12]

In 2024 she played a leading role in the international film production Transamazonia directed by Pia Karais. She plays the role of Rebecca, the daughter of an American missionary in the Amazon rainforest, who claims that his daughter is a faith healer. [13]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2014Spreewaldkrimi: Mörderische HitzeJohannaTV film
2016LoopingLilly
2017Die TochterLuca
2019 System Crasher Bernadette “Benni” Klaaß
2020 News of the World Johanna LeonbergerMain role, International debut
2021 A Christmas Number One Nina Cutter
2024 Transamazonia RebeccaMain role
2025 The Legend of Ochi YuriMain role

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2016Die Spezialisten – Im Namen der OpferAnja RothmannEpisode Flowerpower
2017Die Spezialisten – Im Namen der OpferLily WeyerEpisode Sommermärchen
2017Der gute BulleFabienneTelevision film
2019Inga Lindström: Familienfest in SommerbyMilaTelevision film

Music video

YearTitleArtist
2013Streets Abby  [ de ]
2022Ich hasse es hier Tocotronic

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef
2020
Chicago Film Critics Association Most Promising Performer News of the World Nominated [14]
2021
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Women's Breakthrough PerformanceNominated [15]
Austin Film Critics Association Best Supporting ActressNominated [16]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Young Performer Nominated [17]
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress 3rd place [18]
Georgia Film Critics Association Breakthrough AwardNominated [19]
Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated [20]
Hawaii Film Critics Society Best Supporting ActressNominated [21]
Online Film and Television Association Best Youth PerformanceRunner-up [22]
Phoenix Critics Circle Best Supporting ActressNominated [23]
Phoenix Film Critics Society Best Performance by a YouthWon [24]
Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated [25]
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated [26]
Seattle Film Critics Society Best Youth Performance Nominated [27]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Youth PerformanceNominated [28]

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References

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