Annie Rosar was born in
Vienna into a farming family based in
Orth an der Donau, near Vienna. Her father Michael Rosar (1850–1927) worked as a conductor on the
Vienna tram network. Having finished grammar school (
Gymnasium), Rosar attended the
University of Music and Performing Arts and made her stage debut in the Vienna
Prater under director
Josef Jarno in 1910. One year later she joined the Munich
Munich Schauspielhaus ensemble under
Otto Falckenberg and subsequently went to
Berlin and
Hamburg. On her return to Vienna, she had engagements at the
Burgtheater (1917–23), the
Theater in der Josefstadt (1925–38), where she worked with
Max Reinhardt, and the
Volkstheater (1939–42, 1947–51). Rosar initially appeared in classical roles, however, in her advanced years she embodied resolute
Viennese women in numerous comedies. She appeared in film as early as in 1919; her popularity was boosted with the development of
sound films. After the World War II, Rosar concentrated on film, radio and television work, starring in more than 100 movies during her acting career. In 1907 Rosar married a
Swiss businessman and moved with him to
Milan,
Italy. After her divorce she remarried in 1930 but was divorced again. Her only son, by her first marriage, was killed in 1943 at the
Eastern Front in the
Second World War. Annie Rosar died in Vienna. She is buried in an
Ehrengrab in the
Zentralfriedhof. ==Selected filmography==