Actor Redmayne's Stalker Gets Suspended Prison Sentence

Stalker Stieger

The stalker, who fell in love with Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne, abandoning her life in Germany to spy on the star, received a suspended prison sentence today.

Mother-of-two Gaby Stieger, 49, watched as he undressed at home and hung around a local park, hoping to spot him as well as following him to movie shoots, premiere’s and his local tube station.

The freelance translator and writer, of Hyde Crescent, Colindale pleaded guilty yesterday to stalking the 35 year-old actor between October 7, 2013 and August 23, this year.

Camberwell Green Magistrates Court heard Stieger convinced herself she had been married to the actor in a previous life.

The final straw was when she approached him in Mint Street Park, Borough, Southwark when he was with his 15 month-old daughter and tried to grab his arm.

Eton-educated Redmayne has been aware of Stieger since she approached him at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, Covent Garden in 2012 and gifted him a book written in German.

He won an Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA for portraying physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

London-born Redmayne, who married Hannah Bagshawe in 2014, has also starred in The Danish Girl, Less Miserables and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

The court heard Hannah’s victim impact statement in which she said: “She would frequently be sitting on the wall in the park, watching us coming and going, we felt deeply unsettled.”

Stieger received four months imprisonment, suspended for two years and must obey a restraining order prohibiting her contacting Redmayne and his immediate family and coming within 200 metres of them.

Magistrate Novello Noades announced: “This is a very serious offence, which took place over a period of five years.

“There was significant planning involved, you moved from Germany to London to be near the victim.

Star: Redmayne

“You obtained work in the film industry and near the victim’s home in order to be in proximity to him.

“He told you he was distressed, but you ignored him.”

A court probation officer, Patrick Acres, interviewed the defendant. “Stieger is a sensitive person and she believes in spiritualism.

“She started believing then she had a connection to Eddie Redmayne. She believed in a previous life they were married.

“All she wanted to do was to try and connect with Eddie Redmayne and pass information to him.

“She believed he was going to reject her forcefully. She believed she had a message to give him.” 

It was at the West End premiere of that last film Stieger stalked him again and the actor spotted her behind the crowds.

Prosecutor Miss Sara Ashkboos told the court yesterday their first meeting was at the theatre. “She was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs and gave him a book.”

She was a nuisance on film-sets as she tried to contact the actor again. “She asked for a photo and approached his driver and offered him cake so he would get the actor to sign a birthday card for her daughter.”

Stieger, from Bremen, has two daughters, aged 17 and 19 years-old.

Suspended Sentence: Stieger

She next showed up at an Eton carol service Redmayne was attending with Hannah. “The complainant and his wife felt very uncomfortable and left immediately.”

In a photo taken at the event Stieger is caught staring at Redmayne.

She and her dog became regulars at Mint Street Park, which overlooks the couple’s flat. “The park is opposite the complainant’s home address, the entrance can be seen from the park.”

In May, 2014 she managed to give Redmayne a note, which included her name and number. “She expressed her love and said she was in love with the complainant, but he did not reply.”

The actor also walked off home when Stieger approached him outside his local tube station, asking for a hug and on another occasion approached when he was with a group of friends.

After taking advice form his agent and a solicitor the actor approached Stieger in 2015 with a letter outlining his feelings and asked her to stop following him and this worked for a while.

However, he spotted her at the Leicester Square premiere on November 15, last year.

She was again seen by a local woman, who runs an arts and crafts-style cafe near the star’s home and revealed her deep feelings for the actor.

In his victim impact statement Redmayne says he is happy to share time with fans, but stated: “I regret meeting Gaby Stieger at the Donmar Warehouse.”

“She was spying on my flat, seeing me in a state of undress. 

“The safety of my family means everything to me,” added the star, who said Stieger’s face would “contort with rage” at the mention of his wife.