Udo Kier, the German actor and cult icon who collaborated with such renowned personalities as Andy Warhol, Lars von Trier, and Madonna, passed away on Sunday morning, artist Delbert McBride announced. He was 81 years old. This was reported by Variety, writes UNN.
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Among over 200 films in his vast creative career, Kier's most famous works were with Warhol. Kier starred in "Flesh for Frankenstein" and "Blood for Dracula." Both films were directed by Paul Morrissey and produced by Warhol, and represented subversive and seductive reinterpretations of classic Hollywood monsters, with Kier giving the characters both a creepy and comically awkward touch.
These two films made Kier famous, and over the next two decades, he worked in Europe, collaborating with legendary screenwriter and director Rainer Werner Fassbinder on "Station's Wife," "The Third Generation," and "Lili Marleen." Then, at the Berlin Film Festival, Kier met future two-time Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant, whom Kier credited with helping him obtain his American work permit and SAG card.
In 1991, Van Sant introduced Kier to American audiences in his coming-of-age drama, "My Own Private Idaho." Kier appeared in a supporting role alongside stars River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves.
Around the same time, Kier began a long-standing collaboration with von Trier. Starting in the late 1980s with the film "Epidemic," Kier appeared in the 1991 film "Europa," and then in several episodes of von Trier's long-running horror thriller series "The Kingdom" throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Their other joint works include "Breaking the Waves," "Dancer in the Dark," "Dogville," "Melancholia," and "Nymphomaniac: Vol. II."
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In the 1990s, Kier also appeared in supporting roles in major Hollywood productions such as "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "Armageddon," and "Blade." He also appeared in Madonna's book "Sex" (1992) and in her music videos for "Erotica" and "Deeper and Deeper" from the album "Erotica."
Kier's most recent film was Kleber Mendonça Filho's "Secret Agent," which earned lead actor Wagner Moura the Best Actor award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
Udo Kierspe was born in Cologne, Germany, in a hospital that was bombed by the Allies. At 18, he moved to London after meeting Fassbinder in a bar.
"I liked the attention, so I became an actor," he told Peter Debruge of Variety in a 2024 interview. After many years of working between Europe and the US, Kier settled in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, where he lived in a former mid-century library and pursued art, architecture, and collecting. He was a regular guest at the Palm Springs Film Festival, where he warmly accepted awards from fans.