Biography:

Topsy Küppers (17 August 1931 – June 2025)[1] was an Austrian writer, singer, soubrette, actress and theatre director of German origin.

Life

Born in Aachen, Germany, the foundation stone for Küppers’ career as an actress was laid by Ursula Staudte, who taught her according to the so-called Stanislawski principle. However, according to her own statement, the greatest influence was Trude Hesterberg, who taught her the chanson and its interpretation. Küppers then took her exams at the Bühnengenossenschaft, which had Gustaf Gründgens on its board of examiners.

She worked on German stages and for German and Austrian television and from 1958 performed with her then husband Georg Kreisler in Munich, among other places.

On 17 December 1976 she opened the Freie Bühne Wieden [de] in Vienna with four cabaret programmes, which was “dedicated to the preservation of Jewish literature and Jewish authors – both deceased and contemporary”.[2] In the 25 years that she voluntarily directed the theatre until January 2001, the “headmaster […] Urwienerin”.[3] During this time, she fought against misogyny, anti-Semitism and fascism with musical-literary programmes such as Gehackte Zores, Weit von wo and Amoureuses, Scandaleuses, Heiteres und so Weiteres.

Private life

In 1965, Küppers took Austrian citizenship.[2]

From her marriage to Georg Kreisler came her daughter Sandra Kreisler [de], who also works as a singer, speaker and actress,[4] as well as a son.[5] Kreisler and Topsy Küppers separated in the mid-1970s.

Küppers was married in second marriage to Karlheinz (called Carlos) Springer († 2013).[3][6] In early August 2013, Küppers was diagnosed with colon cancer, which she described as “my unhappiness” and which she dealt with in the identically titled 2014 book.[3]

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