Maria Furtwängler (born September 13, 1966, in Munich) is a German actress, producer and physician. She is a consistent faces on German television: since 2002 she has played detective Charlotte Lindholm in NDR's "Tatort," in 2025 she received the German Television Award for her role in "Bis zur Wahrheit," and through the MaLisa Foundation, founded in 2016, she campaigns for gender equality alongside her daughter Elisabeth Furtwängler. On September 13, 2026, she turns 60, and, fittingly, NDR and Das Erste have already announced the next Charlotte Lindholm case, "Tatort: König in Gelb."
From the Operating Room to the Film Set: Origins and Education
Maria Furtwängler comes from an extraordinary family: her mother is Kathrin Ackermann, her father the architect Bernhard Furtwängler. Her great-uncle was the world-famous conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, a name that still defines the family as the "Furtwängler dynasty" of artists and scholars. Her brothers are David and Felix.
Before her acting career, Furtwängler studied human medicine at the University of Montpellier and earned her M.D. from the Technical University of Munich in 1996. She practiced as a physician until 2001, before devoting herself fully to acting, a background that still shapes her roles today, including her portrayal of a neurosurgeon in "Bis zur Wahrheit" (2025).
From medical school through 23 years as a Tatort detective to her own foundation: few German actresses combine professional expertise, longevity and social advocacy as consistently as Maria Furtwängler. — Editorial Team
Biography timeline: Maria Furtwängler in key dates
23 years as Charlotte Lindholm: career highlights at a glance
Selected works & awards
| Year | Work / Event | Category | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–1993 | Die glückliche Familie | TV role | First major television role |
| 2002–present | Tatort: Charlotte Lindholm | TV series | NDR detective, defining career role |
| 2003 | Order of Merit | Honor | For social engagement |
| 2007 | Die Flucht | TV two-parter | German Television Award; Bavarian Order of Merit |
| 2008 | Räuber Kneißl | Feature film | Golden Camera |
| 2009 | Romy Award | Honor | Television award |
| 2015 | Das Wetter in geschlossenen Räumen | Feature film | Award-winning production |
| 2016 | MaLisa Foundation | Founding | With daughter Elisabeth Furtwängler |
| 2017 | Atalante Film | Founding | Her own production company |
| 2021 | Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull | Literary adaptation | Feature film production |
| 2025 | Bis zur Wahrheit | NDR drama | German Television Award; directed by Saralisa Volm |
| 2025 | Love and Chaos | Netflix series | Co-produced via Atalante Film |
| 2026 | Tatort: König in Gelb | TV series | Directed by Alexander Adolph, announced |
Through Atalante Film, founded in 2017, Furtwängler increasingly develops and co-produces her own material — from award-winning NDR dramas to the international Netflix co-production "Love and Chaos."
MaLisa Foundation and social advocacy
In 2016, Furtwängler co-founded the MaLisa Foundation with her daughter Elisabeth Furtwängler, campaigning for gender equality. A study developed with the University of Rostock examines, among other things, the media representation of climate change and biodiversity on German television. The foundation also runs "MaLisa Home," a facility in the Philippines combating human trafficking.
Furtwängler also serves as honorary chair of the board of the aid organization German Doctors, is an ambassador for the ONE Campaign on women's and children's health, and supports the #ichwill initiative for a binding gender quota on corporate boards.
A life in pictures: Ingeborg Bock-Schroeder's photographs of Maria Furtwängler
Long before Maria Furtwängler became a household name as Charlotte Lindholm, photographer Ingeborg Bock-Schroeder was already documenting her early steps in front of the camera. Bock-Schroeder photographed the young actress on set in the late 1980s, during her first major television role in "Die glückliche Familie", years before her marriage to publisher Hubert Burda.
Hubert Burda and Maria Furtwängler: Official Wedding Photograph
When Maria Furtwängler married Hubert Burda in 1991, it was Ingeborg Bock-Schroeder who was entrusted with the couple's official wedding photograph, a rare instance of a private family archive intersecting with a photographer better known for editorial and celebrity portraiture. The image remains one of the few authorized visual records of the ceremony.
More on Ingeborg Bock-Schroeder →Bock-Schroeder continued to photograph Furtwängler in the years that followed, capturing both her transition from medicine to acting and, later, her early days as Charlotte Lindholm, a body of work that today offers a rare, continuous visual record spanning more than three decades of her public life, from unknown young actress to one of German television's most recognizable faces.
Family, private life and the separation from Hubert Burda
Maria Furtwängler was married to publisher Hubert Burda; the couple has two children, son Jacob Burda (born 1990) and daughter Elisabeth Furtwängler (born 1992). In August 2022, after 31 years of marriage, their separation became public. No authorized, publicly confirmed information exists on a current legal status or a new relationship, related speculation is not the subject of this article.
Furtwängler now lives near Lake Tegernsee, in the Bad Wiessee area. In interviews, including one with the "Abendzeitung München" in August 2026, she has spoken openly about her life close to nature, her gardening, and her friendship with broadcaster Judith Rakers, with whom she keeps chickens.
Maria Furtwängler: Frequently asked questions
The most commonly searched questions about Maria Furtwängler, answered precisely.