Overview
- This week in Cologne Gaby Köster made a rare public appearance at the NRW premiere of the documentary Was haben wir gelacht, arriving in a wheelchair and posing with colleagues on the red carpet.
- The film, directed by Eva Müller and Isabel Schneider, collects interviews with Maren Kroymann, Hella von Sinnen, Bettina Böttinger and Esther Schweins to examine how women were portrayed on German television in the 1990s and is reported to open in cinemas soon.
- Köster’s visible presence at the premiere underlines the long-term impact of her January 2008 stroke, which left her dependent on a wheelchair and with lasting weakness in her left side.
- In June Köster told Bunte that her savings are exhausted, she is relying on an overdraft and has mortgaged her house, and she expressed worry about leaving debts to her son who reassured her about their future finances.
- The event reunites a generation of female comedians and may renew public debate about gender in German entertainment while drawing attention to the economic and health vulnerabilities faced by performers after career‑ending illness.