TOGETHER WITH ARMANI BEAUTY ON SUCCESS, VULNERABILITY, AND THE SEARCH FOR UNTOLD STORIES.
2025 was a year of extremes for JELLA HAASE – “blessed with the most amazing projects,” as she puts it, but also overwhelmed by the speed at which everything unfolded. The tears she shed during her morning run were an expression of pressure finally easing: “I just had to start crying. Really hard. Because I realised: now it’s all over – the whole year.” Haase has been a household name in Germany since her breakthrough in the Fack ju Göhte trilogy (2013-2017). Her role as Chantal made her an icon for an entire generation almost overnight. Today, she speaks openly about the ambivalence of that early success: “Sometimes I look at pictures of myself and think: does this really have anything to do with my life?” She finds herself increasingly preoccupied with the relationship between her public persona and her private self. Haase says she’s just beginning to declutter – both materially and mentally. “I accumulated so much when I suddenly became very visible, and I probably couldn’t fully grasp what was happening.”
Her strategy? A “certain basic sense of ease,” as she calls it. Not taking everything too seriously, not allowing herself to be constrained – especially in a profession where one’s body is constantly scrutinised. “I think that’s a lifelong task,” says Haase. She stresses how fortunate she is to be loved and accepted for who she is – an inner strength that shields her from external criticism.
What sets Haase apart from many of her peers is her refusal to be boxed in. She works across both arthouse and commer- cial projects – still unusual in the German film scene. “Germans struggle when you do both,” she says. Yet it’s precisely this free- dom that matters to her. After Fack ju Göhte, one thing was clear: no revisiting the Chan- tal role, no commitment to a single genre. Today, Haase defines success less in terms of numbers or reviews than in moments of authenticity. When young girls stand before her, hearts racing, and say, “You’re the one from Fack ju Göhte,” she understands the impact of what she’s created. “In the past two years, I’ve learned to live with it – and grow from it.” It’s a maturity you can feel: not coyness, but genuine gratitude.
Working with Armani Beauty has “brought glamour into my life,” says Haase. She’s discovered a joy in glamour, in the pursuit of beauty – at the Berlinale in the snow, in Venice among the boats. She relishes these moments. But her partner brings her back down to earth afterwards: “You’re back in real life now – there’s no red carpet here.” Haase seems to have found a balance between the extraordinary and the everyday. She defines beauty beyond appearances: “I find people who are true to themselves very beautiful – people who don’t feel they have to be something for someone else.” It’s a definition that fits her, too: a young woman who refuses to be pigeonholed, questions expectations, and still follows her own path.
All Photography by Robin Kater for Armani Beauty
What drives Haase are untold stories. “I want to keep telling honest stories,” she says – about women in society, characters who struggle, search, and find their way. Next year, she will shoot her first English-language series – Die Päpstin (The Pope), “feminist and wild”, as she announces. “It feels as if the pieces are falling into place naturally.” Yet despite all her success, one fear remains: not having enough time for the people she loves. That’s why she fights for time off and is consciously carving out space for her family next year. Jella Haase sits in her Kreuzberg studio and talks about a place she wants to create – a meeting spot where friends gather, drink wine, hang pictures on the walls. Perhaps that is her greatest project: to create a space amid success and visibility where she can simply be herself. An actress who has come to understand that true strength lies not in the naivety of youth, but in the conscious pause – and in the courage to move forward.