The daughter of a civil servant, Baarova trained for acting at the State Conservatory in Prague. She appeared on stage and acted in several Czech films before being signed by Ufa, where she was groomed as a star. Her first major role was in
Barcarole (1935). She was romantically linked to the Third Reich's propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. This liaison, for a while, did her career no harm. According to popular legend, Baarova's then-lover, the actor Gustav Fröhlich, slapped Goebbels in the face after catching the two in flagrant. Hitler, in order to salvage the marriage between Magda and Joseph Goebbels and to circumvent a scandal, effectively ordered Goeebels to give up his mistress. In 1938, Baarova was forbidden to make any further films in Germany. She returned forthwith to Prague. From 1942, she made several films in Mussolini's Italy. After the war, Baarova was accused as a collaborator and incarcerated for a year and a half in Pankrac prison. She was released a few days prior to Christmas 1946.
