Elisabeth von Lahnstein (divorced Brandner and widowed Ryan) is a fictional character from the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe, portrayed by Martina Servatius. The character made her first appearance on 2 August 1999. After several guest appearances, Servatius became part of the main cast in March 2000. Elisabeth is considered to be the show's matriarch. Creation and development Originally planned as a short-term role, Elisabeth soon becomes the love interest for Arno Brandner. She is introduced as a strong businesswoman who takes over the cosmetic company Ryan Cosmetics after her husband's death. Elisabeth is also the mother of already established character Nina Ryan. She is a person in need of harmony and tries to solve other people's conflicts. Elisabeth marries Arno and becomes a central figure in his family. She raises Arno's nieces Jana and Nico. Another side of Elisabeth is shown when her marriage with Arno gets troubled and she starts an affair with the much younger Luke Esser. Arno and Elisabeth overcome their differences but their marriage is ruined when Elisabeth leaves him for Johannes von Lahnstein. As she becomes Johannes' wife, her life changes entirely. Elisabeth does always feel as much a part of the family as she did of Arno's before. After Johannes is presumed dead after his plane went down over the Atlantic ocean, Elisabeth has to fight for her place within the family and often has to face the vulgarness of her stepson Ansgar. She tries to honor her husband by trying to keep the family together. Later she marries Johannes' older brother Ludwig before losing him as well after he dies on a desert island. Because of the inner fighting in the family, her stepson Hagen forges his father's last will and names Elisabeth as new head of the family, which also makes her the CEO of Lahnstein Enterprises. Relationships Elisabeth is known through her marriages to the patriarchs of the show's major families. All of Elisabeth's husbands have died and only her marriage to Arno Brandner has been divorced several years before his ultimate death. In the spin-off miniseries Die längste Nacht von Königsbrunn, Elisabeth joked around that she has murdered all of her husbands and has a secret affair with the Lahnstein butler Justus. However, not much is known about her first husband from whom she inherited the cosmetic company Ryan Cosmetics and who is believed to be the father of