- German-Jewish dancer, actress and writer, daughter of an engineer and later director of AEG. Married her mentor, the director and choreographer Ernst Matray. Acted in films under the name Maria Solveg, perhaps best remembered as leading lady to Louis Trenker in the mountaineering drama The Son of the White Mountain (1930). With her husband, emigrated to the United States in 1936, becoming an American citizen four years later. Worked sporadically in Hollywood during the 1940's as choreographer or assistant director. Began a new career in the early 1950's (as Maria Matray) as a writer of television scripts, mostly in collaboration with Answald Krüger.
- With her choice of her stage name she proved her sense of humor. Her father was against her strive for a career at the theater and used to say: "Maria soll weg vom Theater! - Maria should go away from the theater!". From this remark she formed her stage name Maria Solveg.
- In 1927 she got married with Ernst Matray and they went to an USA tour. After their return she has a great success with the movie "Der Meister von Nürnberg" (1927), which established her as successor of silent movie actresses who had made their marks.
- After her divorce she wrote first successful scripts for the cinema in 1956, among them "Mein Vater, der Schauspieler" (1956), and"Frau im besten Mannesalter" (1958).
- To her well-known movies belong "Balalaika" (1939), "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939), "Pride and Prejudice" (1940), "A Woman's Face" (1941), "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1941), "I Married an Angel" (1942) and "Random Harvest " (1942). Maria Matray stand aside for her husband Ernst Matray's benefit and her name wasn't mentioned in the credits of the movies.
- During her work for the film "Wie ein Sturmwind" (1957) she met the author Anwald Krüger with whom she wrote many other scripts in the next 20 years, especially for television.
- In the 60's she became well-known because of her several awarded documentary plays for the ZDF, beside it she also created many TV movies.
- Maria Matray got again her German nationality in 1960 and consequently wasn't depending on a residence permission and certificate of employment any longer.
- Maria Matray became an American citizen in 1953 and Ernst Matray got a direction offer from Germany in the same year. They returned to their home country and Maria Matray established her third career as writer for television.
- Maria Solveg soon had a well-known name as a dancer, later followed her first speech role on stage.
- The married couple Matray had to emigrate from Germany in 1933 and they went to Hollywood in 1934 where they tackled their second career. Maria Solveg wasn't an actress any longer but established as a choreographer together with her husband, normally for dance and feature films of M-G-M.
- Maria Stern attended a ballet school and went on tour in 1921 as a dancer for a production of director Ernst Matray.
- Following the Nazi takeover in 1933, the Jewish Matray went into exile - initially in France and Britain before moving on the United States.
- In order to get by financially she and her husband also sold apartments along the way.
- Her sister Katharina was well-known as a dancer with the pseudonym Katta Sterna.
- In the 40's she found out her love writing stories and she committed first scripts to paper.
- Her siblings were already active in artistic fields; her sister Gregola was a theater actress with the pseudonym Regula Keller, likewise her sister Johanna, who appeared as Johanna Hofer.
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