Meet Barbara Rudnik, a German actress who crushed it in theater and film. Born July 27, 1958, in Kassel, Germany, she passed away May 23, 2009, in Munich.

Growin’ up in Kassel, she worked as a book club agent after high school. While on the job in Munich, she linked up with students from the Academy of Film and Theater and kicked off her actin’ career.

In 1978, she started workin’ at Zinner Film Studio. Her big break came with a major role in the flick “Kopfschuß” (1981), which hit the Cannes Film Festival in 1982. After that, she was in a ton of well-known German projects. Part of her fame might come from not shyin’ away from steamy scenes. On April 26, 2008, media reported she’d been battlin’ breast cancer since December 2005, confirmed by her agent. Barbara kept pushin’ through, hittin’ premieres and stayin’ active in her craft, but cancer got the upper hand on May 23, 2009.