What Happened
"Tatort" star Maria Furtwängler recently opened up about a deeply personal aspect of her upbringing: growing up with her famous mother, veteran actress Kathrin Ackermann. During an appearance on Ina Müller’s late-night TV show "Inas Nacht," the conversation turned toward family genetics, beauty, and public perception.
Host Ina Müller didn't hold back her admiration, telling Furtwängler, "I think you are very beautiful, and your mom too. I always wanted to look like your mama." Furtwängler responded by sharing that hearing compliments about her mother's striking looks was a regular part of her childhood.
Why It Matters
While Ackermann—now 88—was widely admired for her timeless elegance, Furtwängler revealed that she experienced a completely different reality growing up. She recalled how schoolmates would react to her romantic relationships with disbelief, leading her to internalize early on that she didn't inherit the same classic beauty standards.
Rather than letting it diminish her, Furtwängler leaned into her strengths. "That cemented this idea in me: Okay, the beauty thing didn't work out," she reflected with humor, adding that she quickly realized, "I am funny and I am smart."
An Incredible Family Milestone
Beyond childhood memories, the mother-daughter duo share an unbreakable bond built on extraordinary adventures. Furtwängler reminisced about a major family expedition in the summer of 2015, when she and Ackermann climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
At 77 years old, Kathrin Ackermann made headlines as one of the oldest women to ever conquer the massive peak. The primary motivation for the grueling climb was deeply sentimental: to visit a disappearing glacier named after Maria's grandfather, Walter Furtwängler, who was the first to ski up the mountain.
Reflecting on the emotional journey, Furtwängler noted that the changing climate means the historic glacier has since melted away. That reality makes their daring family expedition with resilient matriarch Kathrin Ackermann an irreplaceable piece of family history.
