Simon Verhoeven
He thanks you for your sympathy with touching photos
Michael Verhoeven, wife Senta Berger and son Simon Verhoeven in September 2021 on the red carpet before the Ernst Lubisch Prize award ceremony at the Astor cinema in Berlin Charlottenburg.
© imago/Funke Photo Services
Simon Verhoeven thanks his father Michael Verhoeven for his sympathy after the death and shows touching private photos.
After the family made the death of director Michael Verhoeven (1938-2024) public, there was great sympathy. Simon Verhoeven (51), the son of the deceased and the actress Senta Berger (82), now thanks him from the bottom of his heart. He writes on Instagram: “Thank you for your kind thoughts during an unspeakably difficult time. My father was my hero without ever wanting to be a hero. You will always be our world.”
In addition, the award-winning filmmaker – “Welcome to the Hartmanns” (2016) – shows a series of touching private family snapshots and some portraits of his father. Among other things, Simon can be seen as a toddler cycling with his father, on the beach, playing football or at a carnival party. There is also a blurry photo from recent times. Michael Verhoeven and his two sons are happily fooling around in the snow.
“My dad was the most loving, funniest father a child could ask for. And a brilliant, courageous filmmaker,” Simon Verhoeven explained at the end of last week in the “Münchner Abendzeitung”. “A world collapsed for me. He was my great hero and always will be.”
Michael Verhoeven started out as an actor
Berlin-born Michael Verhoeven died at the beginning of last week at the age of 85; the funeral took place privately on April 26th. In addition to his wife Senta Berger (married since 1966) and Simon Verhoeven, his son Luca Verhoeven (born 1979) and the families of his two sons are also mourning his death.
Michael Verhoeven initially began his career in acting. Among other things, he appeared in the 1954 classic “The Flying Classroom” alongside Peter Kraus (85). He later made a name for himself as a director, screenwriter and producer. One of his best-known works is “The White Rose” from 1982, about the resistance fighter Sophie Scholl (1921-1943). His 1990 film “The Terrible Girl” was nominated for an Academy Award.
One of his last successes was the comedy “Welcome to the Hartmanns” from 2016, which can be viewed as a family production. He himself was involved as a producer, and Senta Berger played one of the main roles. Their son Simon directed and was also responsible for the script.