| Marika Rökk | |
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With fan mail, c. 1940 |
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| Born | November 3, 1913 Cairo, Khedivate of Egypt |
| Died | May 16, 2004 (aged 90) Baden bei Wien, Austria |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1930–1988 |
| Spouse | Georg Jacoby (1940–1964) Fred Raul (1968–1985) |
Marika Rökk (3 November 1913 – 16 May 2004) was an Austrian-German singer, dancer and actress of Hungarian descent, who became famous in German films, notably in the Nazi era.
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Rökk was born in Cairo, Egypt, the daughter of the Hungarian architect Eduard Rökk and his wife Maria Karoly. She spent her early childhood in Budapest, before in 1924 her family moved to Paris. Here she learned to dance and starred as a dancer with the "Hoffmann Girls" at the Moulin Rouge cabaret. After a tour that led her to the Broadway and several cities in the United States, she came to the United Kingdom where she acted in her first film, Why Sailors Leave Home (1930) directed by Monty Banks, starring Leslie Fuller.
In 1934, Rökk was offered a contract with the Universum Film AG (UFA) in Germany, where she became one of the most famous filmstars of the time, performing in operetta movies like Leichte Kavallerie, Der Bettelstudent or Gasparone together with Johannes Heesters. She had her final breakthrough with a double role in Kora Terry, a 1940 film directed by her future husband Georg Jacoby with several dance interludes quite revealing at that time. In the same year, Rökk appeared in the propaganda film Wunschkonzert by Eduard von Borsody (as herself), followed by her performance in Georg Jacoby's Women Are Better Diplomats (Frauen sind doch bessere Diplomaten, UFA's first Agfacolor motion picture) in 1941, together with Willy Fritsch.
After World War II, she received a profession ban, but was rehabilitated in 1947 and could continue her movie career. In 1948 she was among the first recipients of the German Bambi media award. Rökk became one of Europe's most famous operetta singers, performing on stage until 1986.
She was married to Georg Jacoby from 1940 until his death in 1964, and to Hungarian actor Fred Raul from 1968 until he died in 1985. She is the mother of actress Gabriele Jacoby.
Rökk died of a heart attack in Baden bei Wien, Austria.
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