Elke Winkens, born Fischer on 25 March 1970 in Linnich, is an Austrian-German actress. She grew up in the Netherlands in the Ratheim district of Hückelhoven. Due to her father's work, her family moved to the Netherlands and Belgium, and she also lived in Africa for some time. She began ballet classes at age six and started performing on stage at nine. Between 1978 and 1986, she was a professional gymnast and won several titles in floor exercise.
At eighteen, Winkens received a scholarship to the London Studio Center School, where she studied from 1989 to 1991. She later moved to Vienna to study song, dance, and acting at the Musical School at Theater Vienna. She joined the cabaret group Die Hektiker, gaining media attention. Her first TV roles were in the series Cell-O-Fun (1996–1997) and One (1998). In 2002, she appeared in the crime series Kommissar Rex as Niki Herzog. Winkens posed for the German edition of Playboy in 2003 and competed in the 2008 ORF celebrity dance show Dancing Stars, being eliminated one week before the final.
Germany
