The Biography

Rona Hartner (March 9, 1973 – November 23, 2023) was a French-Romanian actress, painter, and singer of German descent, born in Bucharest, Romania. She studied at the German School in Bucharest (1979–1991) and then at the I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film. Her breakthrough came as Sabina, a Romani dancer, in Tony Gatlif's Gadjo Dilo (1997), for which she won the Bronze Leopard for Best Actress at the Locarno Film Festival. She later focused heavily on her music career, specializing in Gypsy and Balkan fusion music, and spoke seven languages: Romanian, German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Romani. She died of lung and brain cancer in Toulon, France, at age 50. Her most notable film credits include Louna in Children of the Stork (1999, also directed by Tony Gatlif), Magda Tellman in Le Divorce (2003, with Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts), Arina in Time of the Wolf (2003, with Isabelle Huppert), Soudabeh in Chicken with Plums (2011, directed by Mathieu Amalric), "Joli Coeur" in Mischka (2002), Nina in Dad on the Run (2000), Agatha in Sauve-moi (2000), Mama Roza in Nelly's Adventure (2016), and Pierrette in The Blond Boy from the Casbah (2023). She also contributed original music to Children of Men (2006, directed by Alfonso Cuarón) and The Edge of Heaven (2007, directed by Fatih Akin). She was married to Rocco Sedano until 2008 and had one daughter, Rita Hartner.