13 Facts About Brigitte Alexander

Brigitte Alexander was a German-born Mexican author, actress, director and translator.

Brigitte Alexander Kaufmann was born on 9 October 1911 in Stuttgart, Germany into a Jewish family.

Brigitte Alexander's father was in the military and during her childhood they moved to Berlin, where she completed high school.

Brigitte Alexander's studies focused on the classics and she wrote her thesis on Friedrich Holderlin.

Brigitte Alexander learned German, Spanish, French, Greek, Latin and English and later, due to her extensive knowledge of language, was employed as a translator for UNESCO and Amnesty International.

Brigitte Alexander began university in Berlin in 1932, but then transferred to the University of Frankfurt.

Brigitte Alexander met her future husband, Alfred Alexander-Katz in Paris, and they married in 1939; the following day, her husband was taken to a concentration camp.

Brigitte Alexander was given the choice of being interned in a labor camp or joining the Foreign Legion and chose the latter.

Brigitte Alexander's career came about by accident; having gone to see a performance by Anita and Isabelita Blanch she commented on the performance in French.

Brigitte Alexander replied in the affirmative and secured her first job from him, playwright Rodolfo Usigli.

Soon her twins, Susana and Roberto were born and Brigitte Alexander became a widow, doing whatever she needed to do to make ends meet: breeding pigs, selling silk, selling hearing aids, and acting.

Brigitte Alexander wrote the monologue "The Return", and, in 1951, produced the first Mexican telenovela, adapted from a drama by Cuban writer Felix B Caignet, Angeles de la Calle which ran from March 1952 to July 1955 and was sponsored by the Loteria Nacional.

Brigitte Alexander became the first woman in Mexico to produce and direct television programs and she was then asked to help structure the programming for Channel 11.