CATHLEEN BAUMANN photographed by Sofia Zwokbenkel

Profession: actress
Playing age: 38 – 48
Height: 179 cm
Hair colour: blonde
Colour of eyes: blue-green
Place of residence: Düsseldorf
Languages: German, English and Russian
Voice type range: mezzo-soprano
Types of singing: chanson and pop
Sports: aerobics, horseback riding and skateboarding

What takes centre stage in your life?
My children, Stella and Ede.

Stage fright?
Best partner.

Can you cry on command?
Yes.

Tears don’t lie? (Song by Michael Holm)
Absolutely. Tears are always true.

Humans are the only animal or creature that pretends to be what it’s not?
No, of course. Deceptive behaviour is vital to survival for some animals.

If you could swap bodies with someone for 24 hours whose would it be?
I would pick the whale. I want to glide, light as a feather, through a vast ocean as if through space and hear fantastic
sounds.

Blondes have more fun? (Album by Rod Stewart)
As a nine-year-old blonde, my daughter, thinks they have but also to inspire others to have fun, too.

Gretchen (Faust) or Kätchen (von Heilbronn)?
Kätchen.

Sarah Bernhardt or Marlene Dietrich?
Sarah Bernhardt.

Addicted to handbags?
Not at all. There are too many of them, and they are too much
alike. I don’t need an outward statement of my independence as
a woman. I simply need big bags to carry textbooks, giant water
bottles and food for the day.

Pretty in pink? (Song by The Psychedelic Furs)
Pretty in pink, but black is beautiful!

Turning water into wine: a gift you wish you had?
It would be my downfall.

When do you feel well entertained?
The funny questions my daughter asks to understand the world
keep me wonderfully entertained every day.

Your latest binge?
Penny Dreadful.

Would you rather be you, with your face and your legs, and the brain of a chimpanzee or would you rather be a chimpanzee, but with your brain? (EXTRAS TV show s01 e06)
I would prefer to be a chimpanzee with my brain.

Karma is a bitch?
What goes around comes around…

How do you deal with criticism?
I welcome criticism, otherwise I wouldn’t grow. But it depends on who gives the feedback and how it is done. Praise is less easy for me to handle than ways offered to improve. Praise creates pressure on me to live up to the positive expectations, which sometimes prevents me from moving forward.

_Uwe Buschmann (Copy editing Silvia Strauch)