Agathe Johanna Erwina Gobertina von Trapp (March 12, 1913 – December 28, 2010) was the eldest daughter of Baron Georg von Trapp and Agathe Whitehead. She was a member of the Trapp Family Singers, whose lives were the inspiration for the play and movie The Sound of Music. She was portrayed as the character "Liesl".
Agathe, her six siblings, father, and stepmother, Maria Augusta von Trapp, comprised the Trapp Family Singers, who inspired the 1959 Broadway musical and the 1965 Academy Award-winning Best Picture The Sound of Music. The von Trapps fled Austria after the German annexation of Austria, fearing reprisals resulting from declining to sing at Hitler’s birthday party and Georg von Trapp’s refusal to accept a commission in the German Navy. They came to the United States in 1938, settled in Vermont in 1942, and performed throughout the country.
Agathe wrote 2003’s Agathe von Trapp: Memories Before and After The Sound of Music, which chronicles the true story behind the film and includes dozens of her hand-drawn maps, portraits, and other illustrations.
Death of Agathe Von Trapp
Agathe Von Trapp died after suffering congestive heart failure in November. Agathe Von Trapp was 97 years old at the time of her death.