As
Die Kleine Cornelia she had her first
hit record in 1951, aged eight, with a song written by her father. "" ("Pack your bathing trunks") is a cheery tune about a group of children going swimming on a hot summer's day at
Wannsee. The title of the song has become a
set phrase and
synonym for going swimming easily recognized even by speakers of German who have never heard of the song. As she grew up, she continued recording as
Conny, then
Conny Froboess. In 1962, Froboess finished in sixth place at the
Eurovision Song Contest, where she sang "" (Two little Italians) for Germany. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a
gold disc. Froboess also recorded a Dutch (
Twee Kleine Italianen) and Italian (''Un Bacio Al'Italiana'') version of the song. The
same year she appeared as herself in
Jean Renoir's
comedy film The Elusive Corporal. Later, Froboess became a theatre and movie actress. In 1982, she appeared in
Rainer Werner Fassbinder's film
Veronika Voss. In 1988 she played Marthe Schwerdtlein in
Goethe's
Faust I, a performance that was also released as a film:
Faust – Vom Himmel durch die Welt zur Hölle. In 1997 Froboess played the mother of the protagonist Martin Brest (
Til Schweiger) in the film ''
Knockin' on Heaven's Door''. On stage, she appeared in
Lessing's
Minna von Barnhelm in 1976, staged by
Dieter Dorn, and played Ellida in
Ibsen's
The Lady from the Sea in 1990. At the
Salzburg Festival 2004, she played Mary Tyrone in
Eugene O'Neill's ''
Long Day's Journey into Night''. The same year she played the title role in
Bertolt Brecht's play
Mother Courage and Her Children. ==Selected filmography==