Biographie
Born in Carinthia, Austria, in 1939, Dagmar Koller began studying ballet at a young age to correct a leg deformity. She earned the state prize for dance from the Academy of Performing Arts in Vienna and joined the Vienna Folk Opera chorus before landing her breakthrough role as Mi in "The Land of Smiles." This tour took her to the United States, where she also performed at Carnegie Hall with the Johann Strauss Orchestra. While in New York, she developed a passion for American musicals and returned to Europe to star in leading roles in productions such as "Sweet Charity," "Man of La Mancha," "My Fair Lady," "Irma La Douce," "West Side Story," "Annie Get Your Gun," and "Carousel." By the early 1970s, she graced the covers of numerous magazines, including Germany’s renowned Bunte, which named her Musical Star #1. She became a familiar face on television, hosting her own interview show, "Hallo, Wie Gehts?", featuring other performing artists, and appeared in many TV and feature films, notably acting opposite Elizabeth Taylor in "A Little Night Music" (1977). Her marriage to Dr. Helmut Zilk, who became mayor and governor of Vienna in 1984, ushered her into the role of First Lady. Over the next decade, she hosted and welcomed many international celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, and the Prince and Princess of Wales. In 1994, after surviving a letter bomb attack aimed at her husband, she made a stage comeback reprising her role as Dulcinea in "Man of La Mancha." She recently released her autobiography, "Jetzt Fängt's Erst Richtig An" – now life truly begins!
