Sybil Danning

Sybil Danning (born Sybille Johanna Danninger; 1950 ) is an Austrian retired actress and film producer, best known for her onscreen appearances in B-movies during the 1970s and 80s.

Early life Danning was born in Wels, Austria. Her father was an American military man who returned to the United States, resulting in her growing up primarily in Eatontown, New Jersey, and Sacramento, California. After she finished school, she went to Europe. While in Salzburg, she worked as a nurse and studied cosmetology. She then started working in a clothing store in Salzburg, and tried modeling work, from which she was invited to take up acting roles.

Acting Danning started her onscreen career in soft-core erotic films such as Rolf Thiele's German-Italian production (Come on, my dearest little bird). In 1971, she was featured in the 1971 "classic sexploitation" movie titled Housewives Report, from which she went on to play in Edward Dmytryk's 1972 thriller Bluebeard (1972 film) alongside Richard Burton and Raquel Welch, and, the same year, to appear in the giallo The Red Queen Kills Seven Times.

After a string of European sexploitation movies, such as Naughty Nymphs and Albino, she appeared in minor roles such as Eugenie, the maid to Comtesse de la Faye, in The Three Musketeers (1973). She also ventured into spaghetti westerns, such as God's Gun (1976), starring Lee Van Cleef. She was a Valkyrie warrior in the 1980 space opera Battle Beyond the Stars.

In 1983, she had a "domineering shower scene" with Linda Blair in 1983's Chained Heat, a women-in-prison film. She appeared nude in a ten-page Playboy pictorial.

In 1984, she starred in the erotic thriller They're Playing with Fire. She played a femme fatale opposite Robert Vaughn in the episode "Face to Face" of The Hitchhiker television series.

Her popularity among the B-movie audience led to talk about work in James Bond films and Terminator sequels, which resulted in nothing.

Investments in sports clubs From 2002 to 2003, Danning was part owner of the German ice hockey team, SC Riessersee, becoming the first woman to ever own a German hockey team. Danning brought in three American players, and saw the team return to the highest division in German ice hockey.

In 2011, Danning expressed her interest for the ownership of Premier League's Sheffield Wednesday F.C., but the Owls' owner and chairman Milan Mandarić rejected the approach.

Selected filmography 1972 The Red Queen Kills Seven Times as Lulu Palm 1972 Bluebeard as The Prostitute 1973 The Three Musketeers as Eugenie 1976 God's Gun as Jenny 1976 Whispering Death as Sally 1976 The Twist as the Secretary 1979 The Concorde... Airport '79 as Amy 1980 Battle Beyond the Stars as Saint-Exmin 1981 The Salamander as Lili Anders 1982 Julie Darling as Susan 1983 Chained Heat as Ericka 1984 They're Playing with Fire as Dr. Diane Stevens 1984 Jungle Warriors as Angel 1984 The Panther Squad as Ilona / The Panther 1984 The Seven Magnificent Gladiators as Julia 1985 Malibu Express as Contessa Luciana 1985 Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf as Stirba Crosscoe 1985 Young Lady Chatterley II as Judith Grimmer 1986 The Tomb as Jade 1986 Reform School Girls as Warden Sutter 2007 Grindhouse as Gretchen Krupp (segment "Werewolf Women of the SS") 2007 Halloween as Nurse Wynn 2008 Jump! as Anna Gruber

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Film Result 1981 Saturn Award Outstanding Achievement Battle Beyond the Stars 1984 Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Supporting Actress Chained Heat and Hercules