By Tanja May
When the comedy character Cindy from Marzahn didn’t yet exist and Ilka Bessin (now 52) was going to school in Luckenwalde in the former GDR, she had an unusual career ambition: “I really wanted to become a high school teacher for civics and history,” she tells BILD.
Why is that? “I thought school was great. But only up to ninth grade. From then on I lost my bearings and had no idea what career I should choose. When I graduated from secondary school after the tenth grade, I graduated with an A in Russian. The rest was modest.”
Her mother scolded her for being too lazy. “I didn’t see it as laziness, but as freedom to further my own education.” She smiles. “I had a big mouth at school. I was big and chubby and was teased and made up for it with funny sayings. And by playing handball. Even though I was fat, I wasn’t unathletic. It was just when I was running that I was always last.”
After school she learned to be a cook in a GDR commercial kitchen. “I can make goulash for 4,000 people, but I can’t make a rolled roast.” Shortly before Ilka’s 18th birthday, the Berlin Wall fell. “That was awesome.”
She retrained as a hotel manager and went with her best friend “over to the West to work as a seasonal worker in the catering industry”. Looking back, it was probably the best decision. “I advise anyone who wants to be successful on a stage: gastronomy is the basic requirement. I served so many people who had one on their hands. They taught me to be witty and spontaneous. I also had to defend myself sometimes when someone was rude. It was better than any comedy school.”
For the performance she invented Cindy from Marzahn
It wasn’t until the beginning of the 2000s, when Ilka was almost 30 and had worked as an entertainer on an Aida cruise ship, that the daughter of a seamstress and a truck driver turned her funny talent into a career. She was invited to Thomas Herrmann’s (now 60) talent factory at the “Quatsch Comedy Club”. For this appearance she invented her Cindy from Marzahn: pink jogging suit, cropped T-shirt, blonde wig, unemployed, Hartz IV.
The rest is history. Cindy alias Ilka became a cult figure and in 2012/13 even became the assistant to the (brief) “Wetten Dass..?” presenter Markus Lanz (54). Her parents were so excited at the time that her father didn’t even make it to the television studio (“He was always afraid I would get booed”).
Ilka Bessin as Cindy from Marzahn Photo: picture alliance
Her mother accompanied her and encouraged herself with “a lot of Hefeweizen bananas”. “She was really sitting down,” remembers Ilka.
“Back then I ran down the show stairs in a cropped shirt. Afterwards my mother asked me how I could do that.” Pause. “But not because they saw my bare stomach. She was worried I would stumble down the stairs and embarrass her. It was still sweet to see how happy she was about my success.”
Ilka was always close with her parents, despite a difficult childhood. “My parents were very strict. I got something on my ass regularly, and not too little. At some point my parents apologized to me for that. For me everything is good. I told them: I love and forgive you. I will always make sure you guys are okay.”
There was always a lot of laughter at Bessins’ house. “My parents influenced me when it came to comedy. My father told one joke after another, pulled his pants down to his armpits, gloves and suspenders. So he wanted to take me to school. My mother then started complaining. We just had a little whimsy, and that’s what defined us as a family. I wrote my first stage program together with my father. He was often on set and really enjoyed it.”
Ilka laughs a lot when she talks about her father. Detlef Bessin died three years ago as a result of his dementia. Ilka and her mother looked after him lovingly. “We tried to see the illness with humor, otherwise you can’t stand it. Of course you cry snot and water every now and then. But no matter how shitty you feel, humor helps.”
At some point her father no longer recognized her. “During one visit he got up and sat at another table. I said to my mother: ‘What I said probably wasn’t that interesting to him.’ We laughed our heads off.”
Seven years ago, in 2016, Cindy from Marzahn retired. Since then, Ilka has been successful as Ilka Bessin. A little anticipation for all Cindy fans: In 2024, for the 20th anniversary, Ilka Bessin will play another 20 shows as Cindy from Marzahn, advance ticket sales started on Friday.
BILD already knows: Cindy has evolved, both visually and in terms of her content. “Cindy is becoming more political and is now wearing joggers with rainbow stripes.”
Ilka is often addressed as Cindy on the street or while shopping. “People think they know me. They touch my stomach to see if I’m pregnant. That’s all fine for me. I am always kind to everyone because they made me who I am today.”
The nice thing about Ilka Bessin is that she is grateful and humble for her success and takes nothing for granted. And she’s really incredibly funny, even when the camera is off.