With a heavy heart that we share the heartbreaking news of this legendary Hollywood actress’ death at 85

Hollywood has lost another star from its golden era.

Elke Sommer, the German-born actress who became one of the most recognizable faces of 1960s cinema, has died at the age of 85.

Her stepson, Sebastian Walther, told German outlet *Bild* that Sommer died at her home in Bel Air, Los Angeles, on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

The Los Angeles Police Department also confirmed to The Associated Press that officers responded to the death of an 85-year-old woman on Sommer’s block that night.

According to reports, her final wish was to be laid to rest in the family grave in Marloffstein, Germany.

Sommer’s life looked glamorous from the outside.

She appeared alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Paul Newman, Peter Sellers, Dean Martin, Dick Van Dyke, James Garner, and Sharon Tate.

But her road to fame began far from Hollywood luxury.

Born Elke Schletz in Berlin on November 5, 1940, Sommer spent her earliest years surrounded by the uncertainty of World War II.

Her family left Berlin in 1942 and eventually settled in southern Germany.

Then, when Elke was only 14, her father, a Protestant minister, died.

The loss left the family struggling financially.

Years later, Sommer described just how difficult those years had been.