'', 1961 for
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1964) In 1960,
Bernhard Wicki and
Artur Brauner produced the comedy film
The Good Soldier Schweik with Berger and German actor
Heinz Rühmann. Brauner used Berger in several films, but she soon tired of musicals. In 1962, she went to
Hollywood and worked with stars such as
Charlton Heston,
Dean Martin,
Frank Sinatra,
Richard Widmark,
John Wayne,
Kirk Douglas, and
Yul Brynner. She returned to Germany to accept an offer for a role in a series, which would have included an obligation of several years. Early publicity material compared her to
Brigitte Bardot and
Sophia Loren. In 1963, Berger met her future husband
Michael Verhoeven, son of German film director
Paul Verhoeven (not to be confused with the Dutch
Paul Verhoeven). In November 1964, she guest-starred in an episode of the U.S. television show
The Man from U.N.C.L.E, entitled "The Double Affair". It was later expanded and released in cinemas as the feature film
The Spy with My Face (1965). Also in 1965, she starred in
The Glory Guys, a dramatic representation of Custer's Little Big Horn disaster, based on the novel
The Dice of God by Hoffman Birney. Filmed by Levy-Gardner-Laven and released by United Artists, it stars Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell, Senta Berger, James Caan, and Michael Anderson, Jr. Berger and Verhoeven started their own film production company in 1965, and married in 1966. Berger continued to develop her European career in France and Italy. In 1966, Berger co-starred with Kirk Douglas in the film
Cast a Giant Shadow. Berger played the role of Magda, a soldier in the Israeli army during the
1948 Arab–Israeli War. Also in 1966, the British film
Our Man in Marrakesh, called ''Bang, Bang, You're Dead
in the U.S., was released, starring Senta Berger opposite Tony Randall. In The Quiller Memorandum, a third film of hers released in 1966, she played opposite Max von Sydow and George Segal in the role of a German schoolteacher involved in neo-Nazi activity. In 1967, Berger acted in the pilot film for the Robert Wagner television series It Takes a Thief'', which aired on the U.S. television network
ABC on 9 January 1968. She reprised her role in the series in October 1969, in an episode in which her character was killed. In 1970, Berger starred for the first time in a film produced by her own company and directed by her husband. Other internationally successful films made by their joint production company included,
Die weiße Rose (1982),
The Nasty Girl (1990) and '''' (1995). In 1971, Berger participated in the media campaign "
We've had abortions!" launched by German feminist
Alice Schwarzer with a cover story in the
Stern political magazine. In 1972, she also campaigned for
Willy Brandt's
Social Democratic Party. Following the birth of her first son, Berger soon returned to theatre work. She played at the
Burgtheater in Vienna, at the
Thalia Theater in Hamburg, and at the
Schiller Theater in Berlin. Between 1974 and 1982, she played the Buhlschaft in the play
Jedermann at the
Salzburg Festival with
Curd Jürgens and
Maximilian Schell. She also acted alongside Schell and
James Coburn in a supporting role in the acclaimed war film
Cross of Iron (1977). In 1977, she was head of the jury at the
27th Berlin International Film Festival. Twenty-one years later, she was part of the jury at the
48th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1985 and 1986, Berger started a comeback for German-speaking audiences in the TV serial
Kir Royal. Further serial hits followed, including
Die schnelle Gerdi (
The Fast Gerdi, 1989–2002), in which she played a taxi driver. In the same year, she also began a singing career. From 2003 to 2010, Berger was president of the
German Film Academy, which seeks to support the careers of actors and actresses in Germany and across Europe. Since 2005, the academy assigns the annual
German Film Awards, or
Lolas. In 2005 she appeared in the film,
Einmal so wie ich will (
Once According to My Will), as a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage, who finds love on holiday, but turns her back on the relationship. In 2016, she played one of the leading roles in the film
Welcome to Germany, written and directed by her son
Simon Verhoeven. The film grossed more than US$20 million, making it the most successful German picture of the year. It also won numerous awards, among them the
Deutscher Filmpreis, the peace award Friedenspreis des deutschen Films, and was nominated for a
European Film Award for Best Comedy. She played the role of Doctor Eva Maria Prohacek in the popular German crime television series
Unter Verdacht (
Under Suspicion) from 2002 till March 2020, when she retired from the role. In June 2023, her romantic dramedy ''
(Weißt du noch''; screenplay by Martin Rauhaus, directed by
Rainer Kaufmann) premiered at the 40th
Filmfest München. For her second screen collaboration with her writer/director son Simon Verhoeven will be in the bestseller adaptation of
Joachim Meyerhoff's
Ach, diese Lücke, diese entsetzliche Lücke. Berger is playing the female lead in this film, which will be released by
Warner Bros. in 2026. ==Memoirs==