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Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef (December 28, 1925 - February 1, 2002) was a German actress, singer and writer.

She was billed in some English language films as Hildegard Neff.

Arguably, her most influential roles included that of Susanne Wallner in Wolfgang Staudte's film Die Mörder sind unter uns as well as her role as Marina in Die Sünderin in which she performed the first nude scene in German filmmaking in 1950.

The incident in the latter film sparked one of the largest scandals in German filmmaking history and drew the criticism of the Roman Catholic Church.

She was the first and only German to have a successful Broadway show She was sometimes compared to that other great German actress, Marlene Dietrich, in that they both were, or portrayed as, the liberated, self-confident woman.

Hildegard Knef was one of the most important actresses of post-war Germany.In the 1960s and 1970s she enjoyed much success as a singer of German chansons, which she often co-wrote.

The song she is mostly remembered for is "Für mich soll's rote Rosen regnen" .

She is also known for her version of the song "Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin", the title of which is still often cited in articles and in common speech throughout Germany.

She has published several books.

Her autobiography Der geschenkte Gaul - Bericht aus einem Leben from 1970 is a candid, but not sensationalist, recount of her life in Germany during and after World War II.

It became the best selling German book after World War II.

Her second book "Das Urteil" from 1975 was a moderate success.

It dealt with her struggle with breast cancer.

She was married three times and had a daughter (born in 1968) with her second husband David Cameron Palastanga.