Elke Sommer Elke Sommer (born 5 November 1940) is a German born actress, entertainer, and artist. Sommer was born as Elke Schletz in Berlin. She started appearing in films in Italy in the late 1950s. She quickly became a noted sex symbol and moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s. She became one of the most popular pin-up girls of the time, and posed for several pictorials in Playboy Magazine.
She performed as a singer, making several LP records.
In 1975, Peter Rogers cast her in Carry On Behind as Russian professor Vrooshka. She became the Carry On's highest paid performer, at £30,000 (a honour shared with Phil Silvers for Follow That Camel) While continuing to act sometimes, since the 1990s she has concentrated on painting. Her artwork shows strong influence from Marc Chagall. As of 2004, she lives in Los Angeles, California.