Romy Haag | |
|---|---|
 Haag atTeddy Awards 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1948-01-01)1 January 1948 (age 77) The Hague,South Holland, Netherlands |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, dancer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1961–present |
Romy Haag (born 1 January 1948) is a Dutch dancer, singer, actress and former nightclub manager. In 1999, her autobiographyEine Frau und mehr was published, in which she describes her life in the art scene in the U.S.A. and Berlin in the 1970s. She has had roles in 26 films, includingPlastikfieber,The Case of Mr. Spalt (Zum Beispiel Otto Spalt),The Hamburg Syndrome andMascara withCharlotte Rampling. She released 17 albums.[1]
Romy Haag was bornEdouard Frans Verba[2] inScheveningen,Netherlands. When she was 13, Romy Haag and her family joined the circus. She started her career at theCircus Strassburger as a children's clown. At age 16, she moved to Paris with thetrapeze artists from the circus and debuted at the Parisian nightclubs as acabaret dancer. Romy Haag, having been born in the body of a boy, felt like a girl from early on and was thus physically abused by her father and harassed by others.[3] When she was around 12 years old, she started to live a fully female identity. But only in her mid 30s did she have a gender reassignment surgery.[4]
In 1972, an American show manager offered Haag a tour booking and she performed her showBerlin Chanson atFire Island, inLong Island andAtlantic City. There she met and fell in love with a street musician from Berlin and decided to move back to Europe to live in the German city with him.[5]
In 1974, at age 26, she opened her own cabaret, namedChez Romy Haag, inBerlin-Schöneberg. Visitors to the venue includedUdo Lindenberg,Zizi Jeanmaire,Patricia Highsmith,Bryan Ferry,Tina Turner,Horst Buchholz,Grace Jones,Rainer Werner Fassbinder,Iggy Pop,Freddie Mercury,Lou Reed andMick Jagger, whom she first met in 1973.[6]
In 1976, Haag andDavid Bowie began a romantic relationship. Bowie subsequently moved to Berlin and completed his first German tour.[6][7]
Haag's first single "Liege-Samba" appeared in 1977, with Udo Lindenberg contributing the lyrics and music. She went on tour with Lindenberg, and in the following year, released her single "Superparadise". In 1979,The New Yorker profiled her in a photo tribute. In 1981, her first albumSo bin ich was released withKlaus Hoffmann contributing the lyrics.
In 1983, Haag sold her night club to travel the world. Returning to Germany in 1986, she began touring Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the U.S. with herCity in the Night show. During mid 1980s, Haag was featured in theperformance art video installationQueen Zero. During her career, she performed with Conny Göckel, Alexander Kraut, Lutz Woite, Friedel Schwarz, Erik Küppers, Blacky Schwarz, Roland Götz, Hansi Wallbaum, Uli Moritz, Eberhardt Fortmann.
In 2010, she had a role as a receptionist in the internet soap operaDoc Love playing alongsideDieter Bach,Oliver Bender andEllenie Salvo González.
In 1997 Haag received theTeddy Award at theBerlinale 1997 for her life work. The Teddy Award is awarded in recognition of films withLGBTQIA topics.[8]
The German astronomerFelix Hormuth named one of the minor planets he discovered on 29 January 2009 after Romy Haag. Theasteroid is officially named305660 Romyhaag.[9]
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