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© BrunoPress / Getty Images
0 / 29 Fotos
I, Christiane F. - Christiane Vera Felscherinow was born on May 20 , 1962 in Hamburg, Germany.
© Getty Images
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Context - At this point in history, Germany was still divided by the Berlin wall, and Hamburg was on the western side.
© Reuters
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City of birth - When Christiane F. was born, crime was a big problem in Hamburg.
© Shutterstock
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Cultural scene - But Hamburg also had a burgeoning music scene, with a lot of rock band performances.
© Shutterstock
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Beatles - One of the bands which often performed in Felscherinow's hometown were The Beatles, before they became world famous.
© Getty Images
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Changes - When Christiane F. was six, her parents, who had a complicated relationship, moved to Berlin. This was to open a whole new chapter in her life.
© Shutterstock
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Separation - Her parents split up in Berlin at the end of the 60s, which set the girl's life on a completely different course.
© Shutterstock
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Life on the margins - Before she was 14, Christiane F. had got involved in drugs and prostitution.
© Shutterstock
8 / 29 Fotos
Autobiography - From this harsh reality she managed to find success: the teenager became famous for her life story which she told in her autobiography 'Christiane F.: Autobiography of a Girl of the Streets and Heroin Addict.'
© Shutterstock
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Bahnhof Zoo - The book told the happenings of a busy station of Bahnhof Zoo, in the richest part of Berlin at the time, where Christiane and other adolescents worked with prostitution, and bought, sold, and took drugs.
© Shutterstock
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The book - As well as telling stories from four years of Felscherinow's life, the book served as a portrait on West Berlin at the time, and quickly sold millions of copies.
© Shutterstock
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Shared authorship - The book was written together with two journalists from the time: Kai Herrmann and Horst Rieck.
© Shutterstock
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Christiane F - The story went from the page to the screen in 1981, with a movie starring David Bowie.
© Getty Images
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The character of Christiane F. - In the movie, actress Natja Brunckhorst – who was a child at the time – played the role of Christiane F. Even today she is remembered for playing this role.
© Getty Images
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Screen success
- Just like the book, Christiane F.'s movie was a success and made her into a sort of reverse pop idol.
© BrunoPress
15 / 29 Fotos
Star of the underworld? - When the movie hit the USA, Christiane F. traveled to Los Angeles and was dubbed a 'junkie princess.'
© Shutterstock
16 / 29 Fotos
Repercussion - Her story was so shocking that almost no one who saw the movie believed that the real Christiane F. would live much longer.
© BrunoPress
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Christiane F - But contrary to expectations, Christiane Vera Felscherinow is still alive today and lives off the story she told during her teenage years.
© Getty Images
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Christiane F - In an interview published in 2013 on Vice, Christiane Felscherinow revealed details about her life at the time the movie was made.
© Getty Images
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Meeting with a star - She said that her anxiety in the months leading up to the filming of the movie were because she was excited to meet David Bowie.
© Getty Images
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True story? - Even though she agreed that the movie told the story of her life, Christiane admitted that she thought certain important parts had been left out, especially the fact that she had been neglected by her parents.
© Shutterstock
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Sorrow? - In the interview she also confessed to feeling that everyone at the time was interested only in the character's addiction, and not on a likeness to the real person.
© Shutterstock
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Regret - This led Christiane to say that she regretted having written the book and letting it be adapted for the screen.
© Shutterstock
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Her life - Christiane Felscherinow said that after the release of the book and the movie, she spent her time attending literary events and leading her marginal lifestyle on heroin in Platzspitz, Zurich.
© Shutterstock
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Addiction - In the interview, Christiane also admitted that despite being 'clean' for a while, she had never been totally separated from drugs.
© Getty Images
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New biography - In another interview for Spielgel Online, Christiane spoke about the second book she had written: 'Christiane F - My Second Life,' a sequel to her biography.
© Shutterstock
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New stories - In this book, which was published in 2013, Christiane F. warns readers about the damages caused by drug use. She, for example, is a carrier of Hepatitis C and suffers from the consequences of this disease which has made her liver weak.
© Getty Images
27 / 29 Fotos
Always Christiane F.
- Her story is an incredible one, immortalized not only in her book and her movie, but by the strength of the stories told by a woman who was dragged into a world of drugs and crime, and survived it. See also: The short life of James Dean
© Getty Images
28 / 29 Fotos
© BrunoPress / Getty Images
0 / 29 Fotos
I, Christiane F. - Christiane Vera Felscherinow was born on May 20 , 1962 in Hamburg, Germany.
© Getty Images
1 / 29 Fotos
Context - At this point in history, Germany was still divided by the Berlin wall, and Hamburg was on the western side.
© Reuters
2 / 29 Fotos
City of birth - When Christiane F. was born, crime was a big problem in Hamburg.
© Shutterstock
3 / 29 Fotos
Cultural scene - But Hamburg also had a burgeoning music scene, with a lot of rock band performances.
© Shutterstock
4 / 29 Fotos
Beatles - One of the bands which often performed in Felscherinow's hometown were The Beatles, before they became world famous.
© Getty Images
5 / 29 Fotos
Changes - When Christiane F. was six, her parents, who had a complicated relationship, moved to Berlin. This was to open a whole new chapter in her life.
© Shutterstock
6 / 29 Fotos
Separation - Her parents split up in Berlin at the end of the 60s, which set the girl's life on a completely different course.
© Shutterstock
7 / 29 Fotos
Life on the margins - Before she was 14, Christiane F. had got involved in drugs and prostitution.
© Shutterstock
8 / 29 Fotos
Autobiography - From this harsh reality she managed to find success: the teenager became famous for her life story which she told in her autobiography 'Christiane F.: Autobiography of a Girl of the Streets and Heroin Addict.'
© Shutterstock
9 / 29 Fotos
Bahnhof Zoo - The book told the happenings of a busy station of Bahnhof Zoo, in the richest part of Berlin at the time, where Christiane and other adolescents worked with prostitution, and bought, sold, and took drugs.
© Shutterstock
10 / 29 Fotos
The book - As well as telling stories from four years of Felscherinow's life, the book served as a portrait on West Berlin at the time, and quickly sold millions of copies.
© Shutterstock
11 / 29 Fotos
Shared authorship - The book was written together with two journalists from the time: Kai Herrmann and Horst Rieck.
© Shutterstock
12 / 29 Fotos
Christiane F - The story went from the page to the screen in 1981, with a movie starring David Bowie.
© Getty Images
13 / 29 Fotos
The character of Christiane F. - In the movie, actress Natja Brunckhorst – who was a child at the time – played the role of Christiane F. Even today she is remembered for playing this role.
© Getty Images
14 / 29 Fotos
Screen success
- Just like the book, Christiane F.'s movie was a success and made her into a sort of reverse pop idol.
© BrunoPress
15 / 29 Fotos
Star of the underworld? - When the movie hit the USA, Christiane F. traveled to Los Angeles and was dubbed a 'junkie princess.'
© Shutterstock
16 / 29 Fotos
Repercussion - Her story was so shocking that almost no one who saw the movie believed that the real Christiane F. would live much longer.
© BrunoPress
17 / 29 Fotos
Christiane F - But contrary to expectations, Christiane Vera Felscherinow is still alive today and lives off the story she told during her teenage years.
© Getty Images
18 / 29 Fotos
Christiane F - In an interview published in 2013 on Vice, Christiane Felscherinow revealed details about her life at the time the movie was made.
© Getty Images
19 / 29 Fotos
Meeting with a star - She said that her anxiety in the months leading up to the filming of the movie were because she was excited to meet David Bowie.
© Getty Images
20 / 29 Fotos
True story? - Even though she agreed that the movie told the story of her life, Christiane admitted that she thought certain important parts had been left out, especially the fact that she had been neglected by her parents.
© Shutterstock
21 / 29 Fotos
Sorrow? - In the interview she also confessed to feeling that everyone at the time was interested only in the character's addiction, and not on a likeness to the real person.
© Shutterstock
22 / 29 Fotos
Regret - This led Christiane to say that she regretted having written the book and letting it be adapted for the screen.
© Shutterstock
23 / 29 Fotos
Her life - Christiane Felscherinow said that after the release of the book and the movie, she spent her time attending literary events and leading her marginal lifestyle on heroin in Platzspitz, Zurich.
© Shutterstock
24 / 29 Fotos
Addiction - In the interview, Christiane also admitted that despite being 'clean' for a while, she had never been totally separated from drugs.
© Getty Images
25 / 29 Fotos
New biography - In another interview for Spielgel Online, Christiane spoke about the second book she had written: 'Christiane F - My Second Life,' a sequel to her biography.
© Shutterstock
26 / 29 Fotos
New stories - In this book, which was published in 2013, Christiane F. warns readers about the damages caused by drug use. She, for example, is a carrier of Hepatitis C and suffers from the consequences of this disease which has made her liver weak.
© Getty Images
27 / 29 Fotos
Always Christiane F.
- Her story is an incredible one, immortalized not only in her book and her movie, but by the strength of the stories told by a woman who was dragged into a world of drugs and crime, and survived it. See also: The short life of James Dean
© Getty Images
28 / 29 Fotos
What happened to the girl who shocked the world in the 1970s?
At the age of 13, Christiane F. shocked the world with her story. But what is she doing now?
© BrunoPress / Getty Images
From book to movie, the true story of Christiane Vera Felscherinow – better known as Christiane F. - is shocking. At the age of 13, the young girl was completely submerged in an underworld of drugs and crime on the streets of 1970s Germany. Contrary to expectations, she has since then overcome her addition, got famous, and said she regrets telling her life story in the book and film which got her so much recognition in the first place. Check out the story she told, and how her life has unfolded since then.
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