Tilla Durieux (born Ottilie Godeffroy; 18 August 1880 – 21 February 1971) was an Austrian theatre and film actress of the 20th century.
She then moved to Berlin where she worked with Max Reinhardt and with a group of expressionist artists around Kurt Hiller and Jakob van Hoddis.
The role brought Durieux great recognition, drawing the attention of well-known artists, including Auguste Renoir, Max Slevogt, Lovis Corinth, and Franz von Stuck, all of whom painted her portrait.
[6] In 1911 Durieux entered the stage of the Lessing Theater where, on 1 November 1913, she became the second actress to perform the role Eliza Doolittle in a German language production of George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, half a year before its English premiere on 11 April 1914.
[8] In 1904, Durieux married the Berlin Secession painter Eugen Spiro, whose younger sister was Baladine Klossowska.
[citation needed] Durieux managed to return to West Germany in 1952, appearing on stages in Berlin, Hamburg, and Münster.
In addition to family portraits, the Tilla Durieux and Paul Cassirer Collection included modern works of art.
[11] The heirs of Ludwig Katzenellenbogen and his ex-wife Estella have listed fifty artworks with the Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste [de].