Maria Matray

Maria Matray was born on July 14, 1907 in Niederschönhausen [now Berlin], Germany as Maria Stern.

Maria Stern attended a ballet school and went on tour in 1921 as a dancer for a production of director Ernst Matray.

In 1927 she got married with Ernst Matray and they went to an USA tour. After their return she has a great success with the movie "Der Meister von Nürnberg" (1927), which established her as successor of silent movie actresses who had made their marks.

German-Jewish dancer, actress and writer, daughter of an engineer and later director of AEG. Married her mentor, the director and choreographer Ernst Matray. Acted in films under the name Maria Solveg, perhaps best remembered as leading lady to Louis Trenker in the mountaineering drama The Son of the White Mountain (1930). With her husband, emigrated to the United States in 1936, becoming an American citizen four years later. Worked sporadically in Hollywood during the 1940's as choreographer or assistant director. Began a new career in the early 1950's (as Maria Matray) as a writer of television scripts, mostly in collaboration with Answald Krüger.

She was a writer and actress, known for Der Hexer (1932),. . .

The married couple Matray had to emigrate from Germany in 1933 and they went to Hollywood in 1934 where they tackled their second career. Maria Solveg wasn't an actress any longer but established as a choreographer together with her husband, normally for dance and feature films of M-G-M.

To her well-known movies belong "Balalaika" (1939), "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939), "Pride and Prejudice" (1940), "A Woman's Face" (1941), "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1941), "I Married an Angel" (1942) and "Random Harvest " (1942). Maria Matray stand aside for her husband Ernst Matray's benefit and her name wasn't mentioned in the credits of the movies.

Maria Matray became an American citizen in 1953 and Ernst Matray got a direction offer from Germany in the same year. They returned to their home country and Maria Matray established her third career as writer for television.

After her divorce she wrote first successful scripts for the cinema in 1956, among them "Mein Vater, der Schauspieler" (1956), and"Frau im besten Mannesalter" (1958).

During her work for the film "Wie ein Sturmwind" (1957) she met the author Anwald Krüger with whom she wrote many other scripts in the next 20 years, especially for television.

und abends in die Scala (1958) and Never Trust a Woman (1930). She was married to Ernst Matray.

Maria Matray got again her German nationality in 1960 and consequently wasn't depending on a residence permission and certificate of employment any longer.