Nico von Lahnstein

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Nicola "Nico" von Lahnstein (born as Nicola Brandner) is a fictional character on the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love). The character is played by actress Verena Zimmermann, who made her first appearance on 1 October 2002. Much of the character's history revolves around her rebellious teenage years, being the illegitimate daughter of Johannes von Lahnstein, the deep connection shared with her sister Jana, her romance with Andi Fritzsche and marriage to Philipp zu Hohenfelden.

Zimmermann took a seven-month break in 2006. She last appeared on 2 February 2006, when the character of Nico left with her grandmother Mimi to travel the world. She returned on 13 September 2006 and stayed for another year before leaving on 11 September 2007.^[1]

She returned for three episodes from 5 to 7 March 2008 when Nico attended the funeral of her sister Jana.

Two years later, Zimmermann signed on to make a return as Nico and first reappeared on 15 April 2010.^[2] In late 2011, it was reported that Zimmermann was expecting her first child and would be taking maternity leave.^[3] She last appeared on 17 February 2012.^[4]

In May 2012, it was reported that Zimmermann was back on set and would return for a short stint. Nico returned to attend the funeral of Arno Brandner, appearing on 13 September 2012.^[5]

Zimmermann later took part in the 2014 web special Die längste Nacht von Königsbrunn.

Creation[]

Introduction[]

The character of Nico is introduced together with her siblings Jana (Vanessa Jung) and Robin (Nils Brunkhorst). Their mother Vera died tragically and their father Achim is overwhelmed raising three children.^[6] Robin pays a visit to his uncle Arno Brandner (Konrad Krauss), who lives with his then-wife Elisabeth (Martina Servatius) in Düsseldorf. The three are having problems with the youth welfare office and Robin wants to ask Arno for help. Before he can do so, the two get into a fight and Robin wants to leave the Brandner house, when his two younger sisters arrive. Jana is portrayed as a shy beautiful woman, while Nico appears as a rebel, who loves punk music and seems to be hard to deal with.^[7]

Personality[]

Nico is a young woman who is very difficult to deal with. She is a rebel who doesn't let any authority interfere in her life. Over time her softer side is shown, leading to the conclusion that Nico just needed a stable environment and people who really care for her. Arno becomes a father figure to her and can give all three siblings the attention they deserved. Eventually Nico shows how much she cares about her uncle while still maintaining her style and love for punk music. While the years change Nico's style, she is still outspoken. With her difficult and almost unique persona in German soaps, Nico is a fan favorite and is said to be one of the most complex heroines.^{[citation needed]}

Reception[]

In the beginning, the audience was split on the character of Nico. As more of her vulnerable side was portrayed, her role became popular with fans. The love story between Nico and Andi brought more attention to the character. Andi and Nico's relationship had a popular following and they remain one of the series' most memorable couples. Over time Nico became a fan favorite who could be a member of the traditional Lahnstein family, but still a character viewers could relate to. When actress Verena Zimmermann returned from her break in 2006, fans thought a possible reunion of Nico and Andi could be in the works. When the character returned however, she was taken in a different direction giving her fewer scenes with former on-screen partner Dominic Saleh-Zaki. Nico took a bigger role in the Lahnstein family after knowing about her father's affair and later being once again part of a love triangle. Nico and Christian's relationship was unpopular among fans and some noted the lack of chemistry between the actors.^[8]

Storylines[]

The arrival[]

Nico and Jana arrive in Düsseldorf after they think Robin could manage to get custody of them with the help of their uncle Arno. Arno refuses to get custody and let the girls live with their brother who is barely an adult. He only agrees to get custody if they live under his roof. Nico is unimpressed and thinks that her uncle is old and uncultured. As a favor to her sister Jana, Nico agrees to live with Arno. For a while Nico causes much trouble for the family. Only with time do she and Arno finally begin to get along; he becomes one of her biggest supporters and a father figure she can count on.

The biological father[]

After Nico starts to feel at home at Arno's house, her father Achim (Matthias Hasse) comes to town and wants to be a part of his children's life again. While Nico doesn't have a problem forgiving him, Jana and Robin want nothing to do with him. Achim begs Nico and Jana to come to Mexico with him, where he has started a new life. Nico is excited and even manages to convince Jana to come with them. Before they leave the country for good, Nico, Jana and Achim visit their old house in Hanover. There, Nico discovers an old letter from their dead mother Vera, in which she confesses to an affair, stating that Jana and Nico might not be Achim's daughters. After they take a paternity test it becomes clear that Jana and Nico are twins after all, but don't share the same father. Only Jana is Achim's child, making Nico and Jana's birth a phenomenon known as superfecundation.^[9] Nico is heartbroken, while Achim doesn't know how to deal with the truth and leaves his children once again. Now that Nico knows she isn't Achim's daughter, she wants to find her biological father. After a while she gets a clue that could lead to his identity. Nico is shocked when she discovers that Johannes von Lahnstein (Thomas Gumpert), a rich aristocrat, is her real father. She wants to get to know her newfound family better and therefore starts working as a maid at Castle Königsbrunn. It doesn't take long until her hidden identity is discovered and she gets thrown out of the castle. Nico tries to tell Johannes the truth, but he believes she must be after his money. Nico is disappointed and wants to have nothing to do with Johannes. After another paternity test is taken, however, Johannes accepts the results. He apologizes to Nico and invites her to live with him in order to get to know him and her siblings better. Nico agrees to Johannes' invitation, but is sad Jana can't understand her decision to leave the Brandners' house. Nico moves and receives her rightful title as countess of Lahnstein. In the following years, father and daughter grow closer, while Johannes struggles to accepting his daughter's wild side.

The first love[]

Jana and Nico try to spend as much time as possible together, but Jana's boyfriend Andi Fritzsche (Dominic Saleh-Zaki) has a negative effect on Nico. She doesn't understand what her sister finds attractive about him and gives Andi a hard time when she is around him. While spending a night together at one of the Lahnsteins' shooting boxes, Nico and Andi are alone when they get into a fight again. In the midst of the skirmish they share a passionate kiss. It doesn't take Nico long to come to the conclusion that she is falling in love with her sister's boyfriend. Nico tries to downplay her kiss with Andi and tells him that it was a mistake and will never happen again. To hide from her feelings, she begins to flirt with Carsten (Jan Hartmann), one of Andi's friends. Andi gets jealous and wants to keep Carsten away from her, but at the same time can't admit that he also has feelings for her. After he prevents Carsten from making a move on Nico, he and Nico almost end up sleeping together. They stop in time and agree that they can't do this to Jana. They try to stay away from each other, but can't hide their feelings for long and sleep together in the end. Nico and Andi feel bad about it and want to tell Jana the truth. When Jana finally finds out, she can only feel hate and wants revenge. Together with Vanessa (Inez Bjørg David) she tries to destroy Nico and Andi's relationship. After an accident with Andi's motorcycle, Jana sees that she has gone too far. After a while Nico and Andi think that Jana has learned to live with the situation, since Jana even moves in together with Andi. In truth Jana is still deeply in love with Andi and has still problems with his relationship to Nico. She asks herself why Andi left her for her sister and wants to prove herself. Inspired by Gregor Mann (Andreas Jancke), Jana wants to make money as a call girl. It takes a long time until Nico finds out about her sister's double life and she is shocked. Nico gets into a dispute with Andi after he defends Jana when Nico calls her a whore. Nico is disappointed that Andi tries to understand Jana's lifestyle and gets drunk with the Italian exchange student Luca (Cem Erzincan). She sleeps with Luca and feels bad about it afterwards, so she secretly takes a trip to England. When Nico comes back and tells Andi what happened with Luca, he gets furious and cheats on Nico with his ex-girlfriend Jana. While Andi finds out that he still has feelings for her, Jana discovers that she is over Andi. Both sisters end things with Andi and reconcile.

Too late[]

After their break-up, Nico and Andi manage to still be on friendly terms. When Nico meets Mimi Baxter (Christa Strobel), she has no idea that the old woman is her grandmother. Mimi wants to leave town, but Nico manages to hold her back and she decides to stay a little longer. Nico is fascinated by Mimi and her lifestyle. She was married nine times and has seen almost the entire world. The unlikely pair become friends. Nico is shocked to find out that Mimi is Johannes' mother and that she left her son when he was just a little boy. Mimi regrets her past mistakes and wants to make up for lost time. She tries to stay out in front of the castle as long as she can, but breaks down after a cold night. Johannes takes his mother in but refuses to forgive her. Nico recognizes Mimi is trying and is furious with her stubborn father. Johannes rethinks the situation and he and Mimi reconcile. After the tragic death of Cécile de Maron (Yvonne Burbach), Johannes and Leonard (Lars Korten) make peace with each other, leading Johannes to think to he may finally get his family back together. Mimi has wanderlust on the other hand and wants to leave town. Johannes sees that he needs to let his mother go, but is even sadder when Nico wants to go with her. Nico promises her father that she will make her graduation after her return and tells him that she just needs to get away. When Andi finds out about Nico's plans to leave, he is sad as well and finally realizes that Nico is the woman he truly loves. He wants to keep her from leaving town, but arrives too late and Nico has already left.

No happy ending planned[]

When Nico returns for her sister Carla's wedding (Claudia Hiersche) to Susanne (Claudia Scarpatetti), she discovers that Johannes is having an affair with Arno's wife Elisabeth. She is mad at both of them, but they agree to end their affair after Arno gets shot while being taken hostage by Susanne's ex-husband Alex (Frank Behnke). In the end, Johannes and Elisabeth can't hide their feelings and Arno eventually finds out the truth. Nico has a hard time accepting her father and Elisabeth as a couple, but realizes that she was in a similar situation with Andi. Jana and gives them her blessing. As for her own romantic happy ending, Nico has to wait. Even when she and Andi are back together in the same town, they both feel that they are better off as good friends and don't want to open old wounds again. When Nico meets Christian Mann (Thore Schölermann), she eventually develops an interest in him. Her good friend Coco (Mariangela Scelsi) also has her eyes on Christian. While it is eventually clear that Christian is also interested in Nico, Coco can't get over her feelings for him. She tries to be happy for them, but Nico finds out about Coco's feelings for her boyfriend. Nico starts a career as a photographer and begins working with some of the biggest names in the business. Proud to have earned success through her own talent and not her name, Nico gets a wake-up call when her new boss tries to rape her. Christian comes to Nico's rescue and keeps even worse things from happening. He beats Nico's boss up, leading to his arrest for assault. While in jail, Christian wants Nico to write him letters to encourage him. Although Nico feels bad for him, she can't find the right words to say. In the end, she discovers Coco's talent for writing love letters and Coco realizes how strong her feelings for Christian are. When Christian gets out, Nico tells him the truth and eventually breaks up with him when she finds out that Christian has feelings for Coco too. Nico decides to refocus on her career and takes a new job at a photo studio. Nico's new boss wants to leave to work in South Africa. He asks Nico to come with him and she decides to leave Düsseldorf once again.

Tragedy[]

When Nico pays her family a visit in March 2008, she has to face two tragedies. Her father Johannes is presumed dead after a plane crash and her sister Jana has died of a pulmonary embolism. After finding out that Jana's husband Leonard cheated on her with their other sister Sarah (Sina-Valeska Jung), Nico is outraged and tells him she will never forgive him. Heartbroken over the loss of her sister, Arno is the only one who can give Nico enough strength to get through Jana's funeral. She later has a last conversation with Leonard, in which she tells him that she hopes that he can be happy again after Nico realizes how hard Jana's death is for him. After a few days, Nico tells Elisabeth that she can't stay in town and probably needs some time before she can call Königsbrunn her home again. After she says goodbye to her family, Nico leaves again for South Africa.

2010 return and Prince Phillipp zu Hohenfelden[]

When Nico returns, she is as shocked about the changes to the city as Andi was when he returned. She is especially shocked to hear about her ex Christian and Oliver being a couple. When she meets Prince Philipp zu Hohenfelden, she is smitten, even though Philipp is married to Antonia Weber, the new castle administrator after Stella Mann left. Phillipp helps Nico with The Jana von Lahnstein Foundation, named after her late twin sister.

References[]