Hildegard Knef was an actrice long time before she got famous in America too. She was renamed there Hildegarde Neff . She played in many movies also in Hollywood , next to actors like Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner and directors such as Billy Wilder.not only is she famed for her films but also as an actress of stages. She was the first GERMAN actress to have success just after WWII, when America hated Germany and the Germans. She has written many books that became worldwide bestsellers and also made many records , many of which she wrote her own songtexts for. There is a story behind this painting. I was lucky to have met Miss Knef several times when I worked in Germany. On one occasion ,we were talking about painting, as she also painted. I told her about this portrait of her , and she wanted to see it, but it still was not ready. She insisted she wanted to see it, and when she saw it ,she told me not to finish it ,as she thought it was ready . She also wrote that in German in golden pen under the painting :  " Dank, Ihr Hilde . Bitte nicht mehr ändern " ( thank you , your Hilde . Please do not change it . ) So, I never changed it . This painting dates 1995.