Valerie Pachner

Valerie Pachner is an Austrian actress born on 26 June 1987. She is known for her work across theater and film, having starred in prominent European productions as well as international feature films.

Pachner grew up in Bad Schallerbach, Austria. She pursued formal acting training at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna from 2009 to 2013. Following her studies, she joined the ensemble cast at the Residenztheater in Munich under artistic director Martin Kušej, performing there until 2017. Her stage performances earned her two awards in 2016.

Her film career began to gain traction when she starred as the female lead in Thomas Woschitz's 2015 film Bad Luck, which received a nomination for the Max-Ophüls-Preis. She subsequently appeared in Elisabeth Scharang's Jack and in Maria Schrader's biographical drama Vor der Morgenröte (Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe), playing the stepdaughter of Austrian writer Stefan Zweig alongside Barbara Sukowa and Josef Hader.

Pachner achieved further acclaim for her portrayal of Wally Neuzil, the muse of artist Egon Schiele, in Dieter Berner's film Egon Schiele: Death and the Maiden. Her performance in the project earned her both the Austrian Film Award and the Romy.

In 2019, Pachner starred in Marie Kreutzer's film The Ground Beneath My Feet, which was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival. Her leading performance received international critical acclaim and earned her three honors, including the German Acting Award for Best Actress. The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States and was listed among the ten best movies of 2019 by Vanity Fair.

Also in 2019, Pachner played the female lead, Franziska Jägerstätter, in Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life. The film premiered in competition at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival and screened at the Toronto, Telluride, and Deauville American film festivals, with IndieWire highlighting her work as one of the top female film performances of the year.

In 2022, Pachner joined the cast of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, playing the role of Henrietta Fischer. In 2026, she made her debut in Egyptian cinema by starring as Elizabeth in Abu Bakr Shawky's anthology film The Stories, alongside Amir El-Masry and Nelly Karim. In September 2026, the project was selected as the Egyptian entry for the 99th Academy Awards.