Vera Christiane Felscherinow (born 20 May 1962) is a German actress and musician who is best known for her contribution to the 1978 autobiographical book Christiane F. (original title:Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo), and the film and television miniseries based on the book, in which her teenage drug use is documented.
They settled in Gropiusstadt, a neighbourhood in Neukölln that consisted mainly of high-rise apartment blocks where social problems were prevalent.
Felscherinow's father frequently drank large volumes of alcohol and was abusive towards his two daughters while her mother was absorbed by an extra-marital relationship.
Two journalists from the news magazine Stern, Kai Hermann and Horst Rieck, met Felscherinow in 1978 in Berlin when she was a witness in a trial of a man who paid underaged girls with heroin in return for sex.
The journalists wanted to disclose the drug problem among teenagers in Berlin, which was severe but also surrounded by strong taboos, and arranged a two-hour interview with Felscherinow.
The first American edition of the book was released by Bantam in 1982 under the title Christiane F.: Autobiography of a Girl of the Streets and Heroin Addict, also translated by Susanne Flatauer (ISBN 0553208977).
[3] In 2013, a new translation by Christina Cartwright was published by Zest Books of San Francisco under the title Zoo Station.
A subculture of teenage girls in Germany began to emulate her style of dress and spent time around the Bahnhof Zoo, which became an unlikely tourist attraction.
This development concerned drug experts in the youth field, who feared that, despite the film's bleakness and numerous drug-related scenes (particularly those portraying the reality of heroin withdrawal), vulnerable teens might regard Felscherinow as a cult hero and role model.
[6] In 2013 she explained that she "lived between literature stars and the heroin scene" and described Platzspitz park in Zürich as "like Disney World for junkies"; however, Felscherinow further explained that the area became "a heap of garbage" as people died after contracting the hepatitis C and HIV viruses, and rival gangs engaged in violent conflict.
[1] In the early 1980s, Felscherinow's boyfriend was Alexander Hacke, from the German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten, and together they released two albums under the moniker Sentimentale Jugend, including a cover version of the Rolling Stones song "Satisfaction", on the Das Cassetten Combinat label.
"[3] However, she counters this statement in a December 2013 interview: I hope that My Second Life scares people away from taking drugs more than my first book.
"[1] When Felscherinow was 19 years old, she went to the United States to promote the film about her; she was arrested for heroin and opium possession and had to leave the country.
[3]Felscherinow stated in a December 2013 interview that while she continues to consume methadone and occasionally smokes a cannabis joint, alcohol is her main drug issue at the age of 51 years.