Actress Anke Engelke proved herself to be one of the signature German comedy voices of the 21st century. Born in Canada, she relocated with her family to Cologne while still a child. Originally a singer, she became the host of the children's television show "Ferienprogramm fur Kinder" (ZDF, 1979-85). She moved into comedy as part of the popular radio show "Gagtory" in 1993, and then joined the original cast of "Die Wochenshow" (Sat.1, 1996-2002). Eventually, she found her way into adult acting roles, first with a guest appearance on the long-running crime drama "Tatort" (Das Erste, 1970- ). Her popularity earned her the starring role in the sitcom "Anke" (1999-2001) based loosely on her own life, and her own talk show "Anke Late Night" (Sat.1, 2004). She continued working in sketch comedy as well, starring on "Ladykracher" (Sat.1, 2002-13) and "LadyLand" (2006). She also starred in the Christmas parody "Fröhliche Weihnachten" (Sat.1, 2007). In 2011-12, she hosted the broadcast of the ultra-popular European music competition the Eurovision Song Contest. She continued acting on a regular basis, making appearances in a number of German television films, including "Deadly Leaks" (2016), in addition to recurring roles on "Kommissarin Lucas" (ZDF, 2003- ) and "Deutschland 86" (Amazon, 2018). In 2019, she struck a deal with streaming service Netflix to star in the comedy series "The Last Word" as a funeral eulogy speaker struggling with her personal life.