Helena Zengel

Helena Zengel is a German actress. She is best known for her roles in the films System Crasher (2019) and News of the World (2020).

After System Crasher won a number of international awards, Zengel was cast by Universal Pictures to play a leading role in the American Western film News of the World directed by the British film director Paul Greengrass, which was her first international film. In this adaptation of the 2016 novel of the same name by Canadian-American writer Paulette Jiles, which starred Tom Hanks as Captain Jefferson Kidd, Zengel stars as a 10-year-old German orphan named Johanna Leonberger who was raised by the Kiowa; most of her performance is in the Kiowa language. For her performance, Zengel received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Zengel also dubbed herself in the Italian, German, French and Spanish versions; the dubbing is limited to the lines she spoke in English.

Helena Zengel's screen work to date leans strongly toward Drama and Adventure, a consistent thread across her credits so far.

Helena Zengel's most notable role to date came in News of the World (2020), where she played Johanna Leonberger. She also appeared in System Crasher (2019) as Benni. Most recently appeared in The Legend of Ochi (2025) as Yuri.

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