Biography of Christa Lang

Christa Lang, also Christa Lang-Fuller (23 December 1943 in Winterberg; died 30 January 2026 in Los Angeles), was a German-American actress, writer and producer. She worked in France and the United States, appeared in films by Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Peter Bogdanovich and Samuel Fuller, and later wrote for film and books.

Winterberg and Paris

Lang was born in the Sauerland region of Germany. At 17 she moved to Paris, where she worked as an au pair and translator while studying acting. In the French film scene of the 1960s, she met directors, writers and actors who helped shape European cinema of that period. Her first screen roles grew from that environment.

French films

Lang's early films included Circle of Love, Code Name: Tiger and Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville. In 1967 she appeared opposite Anthony Perkins in Claude Chabrol's The Champagne Murders. These roles moved her from small parts into an international setting between French cinema and American productions.

Hollywood and Samuel Fuller

In Paris, Lang met the American director Samuel Fuller, whom she married in 1967. Their collaboration remained close, without reducing her own career to it. She appeared in Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street, The Big Red One, White Dog and Thieves After Dark. She was also seen in Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up, Doc? and Nickelodeon.

Writer and producer

Lang also worked behind the camera. She co-wrote Girls in Prison; with Samuel Fuller and Jerome Rudes she contributed to the autobiography A Third Face, published in 2002. Later she supported projects connected with Fuller's archive and her daughter Samantha Fuller's documentary A Fuller Life.

Later years

Lang's later work included roles in No Fear, No Die, L.A. Without a Map, Land of Plenty and The Queen of Hollywood Blvd. Christa Lang died on 30 January 2026 in Los Angeles. She was 82.