'Pink Panther' Star and Golden Globe Winner Elke Sommer Dead at 85 — 3 Months After Husband Lost Cancer Battle
'Pink Panther' star Elke Sommer has died aged 85 due to heart failure.
Oct. 29 2026, Published 11:19 a.m. ET
Pink Panther star Elke Sommer has passed away aged 85, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The German-born actress, who was just one week shy of her 86th birthday, died as a result of heart failure, her family confirmed in a statement.
'Now She Can Finally Be With Her Beloved Husband'
Sommer's husband died just three moths ago.
Her death comes three months after her husband of 32 years, Wolf Walther, lost his battle with cancer.
Sommer's stepson, Sebastian Walther, told German newspaper Bild: "Now she can finally be with her beloved husband again."
A Golden Globe winner, Sommer became one of Germany's best-known Hollywood stars in the '60s, building a career that spanned film, television and theater.
Her performance in the 1963 film The Prize opposite Paul Newman earned her a Golden Globe in 1964. The awards organization's database lists her win in the New Star of the Year, Actress category.
Starred Alongside Peter Sellers
Sommer played Maria Gambrelli in 'A Shot in the Dark', part of the 'Pink Panther' series.
That same year, she appeared in Blake Edwards' A Shot in the Dark, part of the Pink Panther series. Sommer played Maria Gambrelli, a maid suspected of murder whose innocence Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau insists on proving.
Her other films included The Art of Love, The Oscar, The Wrecking Crew and The Prisoner of Zenda."
Sommer was born in the Nazi Reich in November 1940 – a year after World War II began in Europe – and initially she wasn’t thinking about pursuing a Hollywood career.
She wanted to become an interpreter and could speak six languages by the time she was in her teens.
Playboy Pin-Up
Sommer posed for the men's magazine three times.
However, her acting break would come after she won the Italian beauty contest Miss Viareggio age 17 while she was on vacation in the Mediterranean country in 1958.
She was spotted by the Italian director Vittorio De Sica before starring in Italian comedies — one of which was entitled Men and Noblemen.
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Sommer was also a model.
Away from the screen, Sommer was married twice. She tied the knot to famed Hollywood columnist Joe Hyams in 1964 – before they divorced in 1981.
Hyams said his marriage was “the best 17 years of (his) life" and had "no regrets."
"When we were married 17 years ago, no one thought our marriage would last long," he added.
She met Wolf Walther, who would later become her husband of 32 years, in 1989 while she was being cast for the play Tamara.
"I was in New York City starring in Tamara and had to stay there for four months,” she told Classic Film TV Cafe, reflecting on how the couple met.
"So, I had to find an apartment but they were excruciatingly expensive, tiny and loud. As I knew the managing director of the Essex House, I wanted to talk to him about renting a room but the hotel had a new managing director, a man by the name of Wolf Walther. So we met. For him, it was love at first sight"
