Maria "Ria" Thiele (18 March 1904 – 20 April 1996)[1] was a German actress, dancer and choreographer who appeared in theatres of European capitals, including the Deutsches Volkstheater in Vienna and Theater des Westens in Berlin.

[2] When she was aged 15, her father sent her to the Hochschule für Bühnenkunst of the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, run by Louise Dumont and Gustav Lindemann [de].

[4] When the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus was closed in 1922, Thiele accepted a contract with the Deutsches Volkstheater in Vienna, together with her colleague Eugen Dumont who was 27 years older.

[5] During her time in Vienna, Thiele pursued dancing at the school of Rudolf von Laban.

Max Brod wrote in a review that scenes of gymnastics and dance were added for her, and noted that her well-trained body appeared ingenious and never boring even without dialogue ("Dieser durchtrainierte Körper wirkt auch ohne Dialog geistreich und nie langweilig.

[8] In 1929, she played for six months in Prague, where she was a celebrated favourite with the audience ("gefeierter Liebling des Prager Publikums").

[10] Under the Nazi regime, Thiele and her husband moved to Alcalá de Henares near Madrid in 1935 where they ran a chicken farm.