Barbara Ratthey was a prolific German actress and voice actress, born on April 3, 1940, who passed away on October 18, 2009, in Berlin. She received her artistic training at the prestigious Max-Reinhardt-Schauspielschule in Berlin, which laid the foundation for a career that spanned both on-screen performance and extensive voice work. Her professional voice acting career began in 1966, and over the decades, she became renowned for her deep, characteristically raspy voice, which made her a sought-after talent for dubbing international stars and bringing animated characters to life.

In the realm of anime and animation dubbing, Ratthey contributed her distinctive voice to a variety of notable projects. One of her roles was Risa Hoshino in the anime series Rumiko Takahashi Anthology, specifically in the episode titled Eine hundertjährige Liebe, which is part of the show's first season. Her work in the genre also included voicing the character Olma in the German version of the animated series Fix & Foxi, which aired in 2000. Beyond these, her voice was featured in several other prominent animated productions. She was the German voice for characters such as Mama Robotnik in Sonic der irre Igel, Mrs. Tweedy in Chicken Run, Oma Knack in DuckTales, Molly Grue in Das letzte Einhorn, Rosa in Die Monster AG, Ms. Bitters in Invader Zim, and the Hexe in Hayao Miyazaki's Das wandelnde Schloss.

Her career was marked by recurring collaborations within the German dubbing industry, though her work was less about recurring partnerships with specific directors and more defined by the sheer volume and variety of her roles. She was the regular German voice for a host of international actresses, including the iconic Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo in Golden Girls, a role that brought her widespread public recognition. She also frequently dubbed the voices of actresses like Eartha Kitt, Cloris Leachman, and Anne Bancroft, among many others. This consistency made her a familiar presence to German audiences across film and television.

Ratthey's achievements in her field were recognized with significant awards late in her career. In 2008, she received the Ohrkanus award for her performance as the title character in the Hörspiel series Lady Bedfort. The following year, in 2009, she was honored with the Deutscher Preis für Synchron, a prestigious German award for dubbing, in recognition of her outstanding life's work in the industry. Her legacy is that of a highly skilled and versatile voice artist whose unique vocal qualities left a lasting impression on German dubbing and audio drama.