Arts and culture stars who died in 2019

When asked to reveal the secret to her success, the British author replied: "I write easy reading for intelligent women." Rosamunde Pilcher was particularly popular in Germany, since public broadcaster ZDF adapted into film over 100 of her romance novels set in picturesque Cornwall. Margaret Thatcher and the Queen were also fans. Her books sold over 60 million copies worldwide.

Ungerer became famous with his picture books for children, such as "Moon Man." Later he published sarcastic caricatures and even pornographic satires for adults. In the US, the artist also created movie posters, including for Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove." Tomi Ungerer, who came from Alsace, was a dedicated European and promoted German-French friendship.

One of the world's top German-speaking actors, Ganz played in around 100 films and numerous theater productions. His most difficult role was arguably that of Adolf Hitler in "Downfall," which was nominated for the best foreign film Oscar. Ganz also memorably starred in Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire," as well as in Theo Angelopoulos' "Eternity and a Day," which won the Palme d'Or in Cannes in 1998.

He created designs for the most renowned fashion houses in the world, including Fendi and Chloé. But his name will remain indelibly associated with Chanel, as he was the French fashion company's chief director and designer for almost 40 years. His blunt statements and his distinctive look were legendary.

For a long time, she stood in the shadow of her colleagues Godard or Truffaut, but Agnes Varda was the actual founder of the Nouvelle Vague: Her debut film "La Pointe Courte" (1955) established the characteristics of the genre. In 2017, she received the Oscar for her life's work. Her final documentary, "Varda by Agnes," a retrospective of her artistic legacy, premiered a month before her death.

In Germany, actress Hannelore Elsner was best known as the lead character in the TV series "Die Kommissarin," (The Commissioner), which ran from 1994 to 2006. Her role as a suicidal middle-aged writer traveling around Germany at a time of personal crisis in "No Place to Go" (2000, pictured above) won several awards and screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

His photos of daily life in big cities such as Tokyo, Chicago or Hong Kong addressed mass consumption, privacy and population density. Michael Wolf's work has appeared in over 30 books and in various photography museums around the world, including the MoMA. He also won the World Press Photo Award on several occasions.

Beyond her wholesome image, Doris Day was a talented singer and actress. She sang hit songs, and acted in many romantic comedies, including "Pillow Talk" (1959, photo) with Rock Hudson, which earned her an Oscar nomination. She also starred in Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956). In the 1970s, she stopped performing to focus on her work as an animal rights advocate.

Simple geometric shapes and skylights were the trademarks of the Chinese-American architect's designs. Pei's best known work is the glass pyramid that serves as the entrance to the Louvre museum in Paris. He was also responsible for the expansion of the German Historical Museum in Berlin, a design combining old and modern architecture. In 1983, Pei won the prestigious Pritzker Prize.

Kerr was 9 years old when she had to flee from the Nazis with her family. But for the young girl, their escape to London in 1933 rather felt like an adventure, which is how she later portrayed it in her youth novel, "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" (1971). The author and illustrator was also the creator of enduring classics for children, including the "Mog" series and "The Tiger Who Came to Tea."

Mordillo moved from Argentina to Paris in 1963 without any knowledge of French, but he quickly overcame linguistic barriers through his art. The award-winning cartoonist became world renowned for his humorous depictions of bulbous-nosed characters and long-necked animals that could expressively communicate without words.

Coming from a Jewish-Polish family, Artur Brauner lost many relatives during WWII. He moved to Berlin after the war, where he built a film empire with his CCC Films company. The producer of more than 300 films, he was notably behind works dealing with the Holocaust, including the Golden Globe-winning "Europa Europa" (1990) and "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" (1970), which was awarded an Oscar.

Her father died at Auschwitz, and she barely managed to survive the Holocaust. Agnes Heller first studied physics and chemistry before moving on to philosophy, inspired by a lecture by Gyorgy Lukacs. In 1986, she took on the Hannah Arendt Professorship at The New School for Social Research in NYC. Until the very end, the philosopher criticized Hungary's President Orban and right-wing populism.

The Danish family therapist's bestselling parenting guides include "Your Competent Child" (1995, in English 2001). He promoted ideas of non-authoritarian parenting all while reminding parents that it was OK and important to say no, too: "Show children the same kind of respect that you would show an adult," was one of the principles he promoted.

With her works dealing with black identity and racism in the US, Toni Morrison was "the voice of America's conscience." In 1993, she became the first African-American author to to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Her works include her debut novel, "The Bluest Eye" (1970), "Song of Solomon" (1977) and her Pulitzer Prize-winning work, "Beloved" (1987), which was also adapted into a film.

The German photographer overturned the glossy standards of fashion photography with his natural black-and-white shots taken in urban locations. Lindbergh also contributed to launching the supermodel era at the end of the 1980s by working with new talent, such as Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista.

The Swiss-born pioneering documentary photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank was best known for his landmark book from 1958, "The Americans," a hugely influential work of the Beat Generation. His grainy and raw photos of daily life in the US defied conventions, paving the way for a new photographic style.

With his curved TVs and chairs and futuristic-looking vehicles, Colani became a pop star of design in the 1970s. His award-winning designs include the Canon T90 camera. Because of his unconventional approach, the Berlin-born industrial designer, however, remained an outsider among his colleagues; Colani criticized them for being too conservative. He remained active up until the end of his life.

The Swedish singer and songwriter was best known as the lead vocalist of the duo Roxette, alongside guitarist Per Gessle. The second-best selling Swedish act after ABBA, Roxette shot to fame in the 90s with hits such as "Listen to Your Heart," "The Look," as well as the international sensation "It Must Have Been Love."

The Danish-French actress became an icon of French New Wave cinema in the 1960s, most notably by starring in several films by Jean-Luc Godard, such as "Pierrot the Fou" and "Alphaville" (both from 1965), and winning the best actress award at the Berlinale for her role in "A Woman Is a Woman" (1961). She went on to direct her own movies and also wrote several novels in French.