Elke Sommer, a German film star best known for her status as a 1960s blonde bombshell and her work in several popular films of the era, died on October 28 at her home in Los Angeles.
The star was just a week shy of celebrating her 86th birthday, with a report from the German publication BILD confirming the news through her close friends and stepson Sebastian Walther. The publication reports she died of an apparent heart failure.
© Getty ImagesPhotographer Erwin Schneider, a close friend of the star's, told the outlet in German: "She could never have imagined a life without her beloved 'Papa Bear,' her husband Wolf Walther, who passed away on July 22, 2026, at the age of 77, and her health had steadily declined since then. Now Elke has finally been able to join him."
Elke Sommer's career
Born in Nazi Germany in 1940 as "Elke Schletz," she was first discovered by Italian filmmaker Vittorio De Sica in Italy when she was about 18. He gave her a career in film that began with several Italian, French and German productions, making her debut in 1959's The Friend of the Jaguar.
© Getty ImagesSommer quickly became known as a sex symbol of the time and often posed for pin-up pictorials. She appeared multiple times in the pages of Playboy magazine in the '60s at the height of her fame as well.
She made her debut in Hollywood with 1963's The Prize opposite Paul Newman, which won her a Golden Globe award for Most Promising Newcomer. Her profile skyrocketed from there and she became one of the most prolific and in-demand stars of the decade.
Some of Sommer's most notable projects from the '60s include the Pink Panther sequel A Shot in the Dark (1964), The Art of Love (1965), Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966), The Oscar (also 1966), and The Wrecking Crew (1968).
© Getty ImagesSommer continued acting well into the 1970s as well, with the 1979 film The Prisoner of Zenda being her last major Hollywood production, before she pivoted to focusing more on her work in Europe. Her most notable film role in the 21st century was the German voice dub of Yzma in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove (2000), with her last film appearance being a voice role in 2017's A Thousand Kisses.
From the '70s to the '90s, Sommer also made a variety of TV appearances, from American talk shows and game shows like Hollywood Squares and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson to multiple German TV shows and movies, the last being 2005's Ewig rauschen die Gelder.
© Getty ImagesIn her later years, the star focused more on painting and releasing music, with the former being her most ardent passion in the years leading up to her passing.
Elke Sommer's personal life
In 1964, shortly after achieving her breakthrough with The Prize, Sommer married Hollywood columnist and author Joe Hyams in a civil ceremony in Las Vegas. He filed for divorce in 1981, calling their years among the "best" of his life but citing her desire for independence.
© Getty ImagesIn 1993, Sommer married Wolf Walther in Germany, the managing director of Essex House whom she'd met four years prior while working in New York City. The pair remained together until his death in July 2026.
