Jim Rakete's Real Name: Günther Rakete

Quick answer: Jim Rakete's real name is Günther Rakete. He was born on January 1, 1951, in Berlin, Germany, and is known professionally as Jim Rakete.

[IMAGE: credited self-portrait or press portrait of Jim Rakete, with credit]

Rakete's real name and Berlin career

German film and library authorities list Günther Rakete as the civil name and Jim Rakete as the professional name (filmportal.de; DNB). He began photojournalism as a teenager and became one of Germany's best-known portrait photographers of musicians, actors, and public figures (official vita; DW).

From 1977 to 1986 (sources sometimes say through 1988) he ran Fabrik Rakete in Berlin-Kreuzberg, a studio and management hub that worked with artists including Nina Hagen, Nena, Spliff, and Die Ärzte—producing imagery and, in some cases, management support for the Neue Deutsche Welle era (official vita; filmportal).

Photography, film, and later work

Rakete's black-and-white portraits became a visual shorthand for German pop and film culture from the late 1970s onward. He has also worked as a filmmaker, writer, and producer. Exhibition and book projects collect decades of sittings with German and international celebrities (jimrakete.com).

[IMAGE: credited example of a Jim Rakete portrait session or exhibition install, with credit]

For English-language SEO, the core documented fact is the Günther-to-Jim name: the same Berlin photographer under two labels in catalogs.

Amazon note (tag realname1-20): Jim Rakete photography monographs and Neue Deutsche Welle music catalogs are natural slots.