Brigitte Eva Gisela Schittenhelm (March 17, 1908, Berlin, Germany – June 11, 1996, Ascona, Switzerland) was a German actress, most famous for her role as Maria in Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film, Metropolis.
After Metropolis, which was her second film, Helm made over 30 other films, including talking pictures, before retiring in 1936.
Her other appearances include The Love of Jeanne Ney (1927), Alraune (1928), Gloria (1931), The Blue Danube (1932) and Gold (1934).
In 1935, angered by Nazi control of the German film industry, she moved to Switzerland where she later had 4 children with her second husband Dr. Hugo Kunheim, an industrialist. After her retirement from films she refused to grant any interviews concerning her film career.
After her role in Metropolis (1927) she made a string of movies in which she almost always had the starring role, easily making the transition to sound films. Her last film was Idealer Gatte, Ein (1935) (An Ideal Spouse) in 1935.
