Biography for
Ingrid Pitt More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

21 November 1937, Czestochowa, Poland

Date of Death

23 November 2010, London, England, UK

Birth Name

Ingoushka Petrov

Height

5' 4" (1.63 m)

Mini Biography

Best known as Hammer Films' most seductive female vampire of the early 1970s, the Polish-born Pitt possessed dark, alluring features and a sexy figure that made her just right for Gothic horror! Ingrid Pitt (born Ingoushka Petrov) survived World War II and became a well-known actress on the East Berlin stage, however, she did not appear on screen until well into her twenties. She appeared in several minor roles in Spanish films in the mid 1960s, mostly uncredited, before landing the supporting role of undercover agent "Heidi", assisting Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton defeat the Third Reich in Where Eagles Dare (1968).

Her exotic looks and eastern European accent came to the notice of Hammer executives who cast Pitt as vampiress "Mircalla" in the sensual horror thriller The Vampire Lovers (1970). The film was a box office success with its blend of horror and sexual overtones, and Pitt was a beautiful, yet ferocious bloodsucker. Next up, Pitt was cast by Amicus Productions as another gorgeous vampire in the episode entitled "The Cloak" in the superb The House That Dripped Blood (1971). This time, Ingrid played an actress appearing in horror films alongside screen vampire Jon Pertwee, but then later reveals herself to be a real vampire keen on recruiting fresh blood.

Ingrid donned the fangs for her third vampire film in a row, Countess Dracula (1971) which was loosely based around the legend of the 16th century bloodthirsty Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Whilst not as successful, as the two prior outings, Ingrid Pitt had firmly established herself as one of the key ladies of British horror of the 1970s. She then appeared in the underrated The Wicker Man (1973) as an uncooperative civil servant annoying Edward Woodward in his search for a missing child. Further work followed in The Final Option (1982), as "Elvira" in the adaptation of the John le Carré Cold War thriller "Smiley's People" (1982), Wild Geese II (1985) and The Asylum (2000).

Ingrid Pitt made regular appearances at horror conventions and fan gatherings, had penned several books on her horror career, and she relished talking to fans about her on screen vampiric exploits. Ingrid's fan club is known as the "Pitt of Horror"! A much loved and genuine cult figure of modern horror cinema, she died on November 23, 2010, just two days after her 73rd birthday.

IMDb Mini Biography By: firehouse44@hotmail.com

Spouse

Laud Roland Pitt Jr.	(? - ?) (divorced)
George Pinches	(? - ?) (divorced)
Tony Rudlin	(? - 23 November 2010) (her death)

Trade Mark

Platinum blonde hair

Voluptuous figure

Deep sultry voice

Her husky voice

Trivia

She has a daughter, Steffanie Pitt.

She lived in a Nazi concentration camp for three years, surviving the Holocaust.

While filming The Vampire Lovers (1970), Ingrid and the rest of the girls had a lot of trouble getting through scenes without giggling. In the scene where Ingrid has to drink from Kate O'Mara, her vampire teeth kept falling out and into Kate's cleavage. She eventually had to steal some gum from one of the stagehands to stick the fang back in.

She grew up in East Berlin, escaped to the West and married the man who helped her escape.

Shares a birthday with Björk, Goldie Hawn, Rachel Rogers, Nicollette Sheridan, and Juliet Mills.

A mad keen cricket supporter despite her non-British childhood and loves nothing more than beating Australian fans who wager against her team when The Ashes take place.

An avid fan of Coronation Street.

Personal Quotes

It's great meeting the fans. They say I'm more beautiful now than I was 25 years ago. All lies of course, but sweet. Where else is an old bag like me going to find strapping young men and women to whisper sweet nothings in her ear?

"Doctor Who" (2005) now? Great stories. Acting - brilliant! Photography - superb. Effects - stunning! BUT....... I do miss the shaky sets, the Marks and Spencers wardrobe, the discontinuity. Now we are so overwhelmed by the professionalism of television that it is hard to feel connected. We are chained to the sofa while we are lasered with the latest state of the art technology. You can never tell if what you are seeing is real or the product of CGI. At least in its first incarnation you knew that the cardboard walls, Bacofoil interiors and Domestos bottle spaceships were the real McCoy. And sex! Come on now. The whole point of the Doctor is that he is far above such earthly pleasures. We aren't even sure if, under the costume, he has the necessary equipment. After all - he is an alien.

I always had a big mouth and used to go on about the political schooling interrupting my quest for thespian glory. I used to think like that. Not good in a police state.

[from a 2006 interview] I was in a concentration camp as a child and I don't want to see horror. I think it's amazing that I do horror films when I had this awful childhood. But maybe that's why I'm good at it.

I'm mad about breasts, especially mine.