Nastassja Kinski Biography Quotes 28 Report mistakes

Early Life and Family
Nastassja Kinski was born Nastassja Aglaia Nakszynski on January 24, 1961, in West Berlin, Germany. She grew up in a household steeped in film and theater. Her father, Klaus Kinski, was a famously intense and prolific German actor, and her mother, Ruth Brigitte Tocki, raised Nastassja primarily after the parents separated. The Kinski name carried both opportunity and scrutiny, and from an early age she learned to navigate the expectations that came with it. She has two half-siblings who later pursued artistic paths as well: Pola Kinski and Nikolai Kinski.

As a teenager, she began working in film, quickly attracting attention for a presence that could be both ethereal and disarmingly direct. Her early break came with Wim Wenders's The Wrong Move (1975), in which she played the mysterious Mignon. That performance led to further European roles, including Hammer Films' To the Devil a Daughter (1976) opposite Christopher Lee and Richard Widmark, and the Italian feature Così come sei (Stay as You Are) in 1978 with Marcello Mastroianni. These roles established her as a young performer able to carry complex, adult material while still in her teens.

Breakthrough and International Recognition
Her international breakthrough arrived when Roman Polanski cast her as the title character in Tess (1979), an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel. Kinski's portrayal of Tess Durbeyfield won wide acclaim for its luminous restraint and emotional depth. The film's success introduced her to audiences far beyond Europe and earned her the Golden Globe for New Star of the Year. It also marked the beginning of a period in which directors across Europe and the United States sought her for challenging and visually driven projects.

Following Tess, Kinski was welcomed into major creative circles in Hollywood and Europe alike. She worked to broaden her language skills and versatility, preparing to bridge different film traditions at a moment when international co-productions were increasingly common.

Hollywood and Auteur Collaborations
The early 1980s brought a string of high-profile collaborations. Francis Ford Coppola cast her in One from the Heart (1982), a stylized musical experiment that showcased her screen allure. That same year she starred in Paul Schrader's Cat People opposite Malcolm McDowell and John Heard, a provocative reimagining of a 1940s classic that became a cult favorite for its sensual, dreamlike tone.

Kinski reunited with European auteurs as well. She appeared in James Toback's Exposed (1983) with Rudolph Nureyev and Harvey Keitel, and then gave one of her signature performances in Wim Wenders's Paris, Texas (1984), sharing scenes of aching clarity with Harry Dean Stanton and Dean Stockwell. She moved nimbly through different genres: Tony Richardson's The Hotel New Hampshire (1984) alongside Jodie Foster and Rob Lowe; Andrei Konchalovsky's Maria's Lovers (1984) with John Savage and Robert Mitchum; and the romantic comedy Unfaithfully Yours (1984) opposite Dudley Moore and Armand Assante. She also appeared in Hugh Hudson's Revolution (1985) with Al Pacino and Donald Sutherland and in the television miniseries Harem (1986) with Ben Kingsley.

1990s and Later Work
Kinski's 1990s career continued to straddle continents and styles. She returned to Wim Wenders for Faraway, So Close! (1993), a poetic sequel to Wings of Desire that sustained her association with European art cinema. She also headlined popular thrillers and dramas, including Terminal Velocity (1994) with Charlie Sheen and Mike Figgis's One Night Stand (1997) opposite Wesley Snipes and Robert Downey Jr., balancing mainstream visibility with art-house credentials.

In the 2000s she took on maternal and reflective roles that drew on her maturity as a performer. She starred in An American Rhapsody (2001), directed by Eva Gardos, with Tony Goldwyn and a young Scarlett Johansson, exploring themes of displacement and family. She later appeared in David Lynch's Inland Empire (2006), a fitting reunion with the world of dream-logic cinema that had long suited her enigmatic magnetism. Throughout this period she also worked in European productions, maintaining the international profile that characterized her career from the start.

Photography and Public Image
Parallel to her work in film, Kinski became an icon in fashion and photography. One of the most enduring images of the era is Richard Avedon's 1981 portrait often known as Nastassja Kinski and the Serpent, in which a boa constrictor coils across her body. The photograph's combination of vulnerability and composure echoed her screen persona and cemented her status as a muse for image-makers. Appearances on magazine covers and in campaigns amplified her visibility, though she consistently returned to performance as the core of her professional identity.

Personal Life
Kinski married Egyptian filmmaker Ibrahim Moussa in 1984; the marriage ended in 1992. They have two children, Aljosha and Sonja. In the early 1990s she was in a relationship with American producer and musician Quincy Jones; their daughter, Kenya Kinski-Jones, later became a model. Living and working across Germany, Italy, France, and the United States, Kinski forged a global private life that mirrored her career. Despite the public fascination with her family name and the intensity of her father's legend, she has spoken more about the work than the mythology, emphasizing craft, collaboration, and the freedom to choose varied projects.

Legacy and Influence
Nastassja Kinski's legacy rests on a body of work that connects European auteur cinema with Hollywood storytelling during a transitional period for both. She collaborated with distinctive directors such as Wim Wenders, Roman Polanski, Francis Ford Coppola, Paul Schrader, Tony Richardson, Andrei Konchalovsky, Mike Figgis, and David Lynch, and she shared the screen with performers as varied as Harry Dean Stanton, Jodie Foster, Rob Lowe, Malcolm McDowell, Rudolph Nureyev, Ben Kingsley, Wesley Snipes, and Al Pacino. Across languages and genres, she brought a quiet intensity that often turned supporting roles into emotional pivot points and made leading roles feel intimate and lived-in.

As one of the most recognizable German actors to achieve sustained international prominence after the 1970s, her career helped open doors for European performers in English-language cinema. Today, Kinski's body of work, anchored by Tess and Paris, Texas, stands as a testament to the power of presence, the value of cross-cultural collaboration, and the lasting influence of an actor who made the camera's gaze feel like a world unto itself.

Our collection contains 28 quotes who is written by Nastassja, under the main topics: Motivational - Music - Love - Mother - Parenting.

Other people realated to Nastassja: Wolfgang Petersen (Director), Jason Patric (Actor)