Judith Holofernes

Born on November 12, 1976, in Berlin, Judith Holofernes spent her first six years in the city before relocating with her mother to Freiburg in southern Germany, where her initial performances took place as a street musician. After returning to Berlin she enrolled at Universitat de Kunste to major in communications, though she departed before completing her degree. Her debut solo album, Kamikazefliege, appeared in 1999 and met with limited commercial success. She subsequently assembled Wir Sind Helden by recruiting keyboardist Jean-Michel Tourette, drummer Pola Roy—who later married Holofernes—and bassist Mark Tavassol. The group independently issued its five-song EP Guten Tag in 2002; when the title track emerged as an unexpected German radio favorite, the band secured a deal with EMI’s Labels imprint and delivered its first full-length release, Die Reklamation, the following year. Its 2005 successor, Von Hier an Blind, debuted at number one on both the German and Austrian charts and yielded the hit singles “Gekommen um zu Bleiben” and “Nur ein Wort.” Soundso followed in 2007, peaking at number two on the German pop charts, while the fourth album, Bring Mich Nach Hause, surfaced in 2010. Holofernes returned to solo work with Ein Leichtes Schwert in 2014.