Rita Engelmann was a distinguished German actress and voice actor, born on December 3, 1942, in Berlin-Schmargendorf, who passed away on October 8, 2021, in Ilsede-Gadenstedt. She completed her acting training at the Max-Reinhardt-Schule für Schauspiel in Berlin. Her career began on stage with a seven-year engagement at the prestigious Schillertheater in Berlin, followed by performances at other venues including the Komödie Berlin and the Schaubühne München. She was married to fellow actor Ulli Kinalzik.

Engelmann debuted as a screen actress in the late 1960s. Her on-screen work included the title role in the award-winning film Vera Romeyke ist nicht tragbar and appearances in television series such as Großstadtrevier. However, her most prolific field of work was voice acting, a career she pursued from 1969, accumulating over 1,350 speaking roles. She became a renowned voice for many international stars, providing the German dubbing for actresses like Catherine Deneuve, Helen Mirren, Bette Midler, Dolly Parton, Linda Gray, and Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher in the Star Trek: The Next Generation films and series.

Within the realm of anime and animation, Engelmann contributed her voice to several notable German dubs. As the user query notes, she voiced the角色 Witwe (the widow) in the Studio Ghibli film Grave of the Fireflies. Her other anime roles included Yukiko Kudo in the detective series Case Closed, known in German as Detektiv Conan, and Panther Zora in Cutey Honey Flash. She also provided the German voice for the older version of the protagonist Chiyoko Fujiwara in the acclaimed film Millennium Actress. Beyond Japanese anime, her voice was featured in numerous other animated productions, such as the role of Miss Faragonda in the Winx Club series, Mrs. Puff in SpongeBob SquarePants, and Judy Neutron in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. Her extensive body of work also included performances in radio dramas, such as the Gruselkabinett series and the lead role of Pastorin Rose Bailey in Morgan + Bailey.