Ingrid Caven (born 3 August 1938) is a German film actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in several films directed by her husband, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, including Love Is Colder Than Death (1969), Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1970), and The American Soldier (1970). She continued to appear in Fassbinder's films after their 1972 divorce until his death in 1982. She has also appeared in Silent Night (1995), 35 Shots of Rum (2009) and Suspiria (2018).
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Early life
Caven was born Ingrid Schmidt in Saarbrücken, Germany on 3 August 1938. She had one younger sister, Trudeliese Schmidt (1943–2004), who went on to become an opera singer. Caven's father worked as a tobacco trader. Prior to establishing herself as a film actress in the 1970s, Caven worked as a teacher in Upper Bavaria.
Career
Caven originally began acting onstage in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's antiteater (Anti-Theater) acting troupe in the 1960s. Her film debut was in 1969 in the short film Fernes Jamaica; this was swiftly followed by her first feature film Love Is Colder Than Death, directed by Fassbinder, to whom she was briefly married (1970–1972). She also had a supporting role in his film The Merchant of Four Seasons (1970), a drama about a farmer who drinks himself to death. Even after their divorce, Caven remained a frequent collaborator of Fassbinder until his death in 1982, also appearing in his films La Paloma (1974), Fox and His Friends (1975), and Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven (1975).
