Helen Schneider

Helen Schneider (born December 23, 1952 in Brooklyn, New York City) is an American singer and actress working mainly in Germany.

Born the daughter of Dvora and Abraham Schneider (the name is German and means tailor), she studied piano before starting to perform as a singer in venues in New England and New York.

Between 1978 and 1984, she achieved success as a rock singer in Germany; her song Rock'n' Roll Gypsy reached the top 10 record charts and she received a Gold Record Award and shared the Goldene Europa Award with John Lennon. In 1980 she toured with the German rock legend Udo Lindenberg. She played one of the leads and the love interest of Eddie Wilson in the 1983 film Eddie and the Cruisers, which has since gained a huge cult following, especially in unusual places for an American film such as Nepal, Russia and especially Germany, where Schneider had name recognition.

In 1987, she began her acting career at the Theater des Westens in Berlin playing the Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret. From 1995 to 1998, she performed as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard by Andrew Lloyd Webber. She worked with Eberhard Schoener on the recording of the Short Opera (1996) and on the goodbye-song for the TV series Derrick. From 1999 to 2001, she performed as Eva Perón in the musical Evita at the Bad Hersfelder Festspiele. She received enormous acclaim for her one-woman performance pieces: A Walk on the Weill Side, A Voice and A Piano, and Transformations Ver.0.1. In 2006 she received the DIVA - German Entertainment Prize for her life time achievements.

In 2007 Helen Schneider returned to the recording business. She recorded three cd's with Edel Music. For "Dream a Little Dream" she received a golden cd award in jazz.

Discography

• 2010 CD The World We Knew" (Edel)
• 2009 CD Working Girl - The Very Best of Helen Schneider (Edel)
• 2008 CD Dream a Little Dream
• 2007 CD Just Like A Woman
• 2001 CD Cool Heat (Elysium Recordings)
• 2000 CD A Voice and A Piano (Preiser Records)
• 1996 CD Rock'n'Roll Gypsy (WEA Warner Music, 1996; Compilation of WEA-Alben, i.e. "Schneider With The Kick")
• 1995 CD Right as Rain
• 1991 CD Vagabond
• 1995 CD Songs of Kurt Weill (Tomato, reissue with changed tracklisting and bonus track „Barbara's Song“)
• 1989 CD Walk on the Weill Side
• 1988 CD Back On Track (CBS)
• 1983 EP Smuggled Out A-Live (Warner Music; Live-EP)
• 1983 LP The Best of Helen Schneider (WEA Warner Music, 1983; LP)
• 1983 LP Breakout (WEA Warner Music, 1983; LP)
• 1982 LP Exposed (WEA Warner Music, 1982; LP)
• 1981 LP Schneider with the Kick (WEA Warner Music, 1981/ 1992)
• 1980 LP Crazy Lady (WEA Warner Music, 1980; LP)
• 1979 LP Ein Mädchen aus New York – Live in Hamburg (RCA, 1979; LP) - (Transl.: a girl from New York)
• 1978 LP Let It Be Now
• 1977 LP So Close

Personal

Helen Schneider is the Chairwoman of the Kurt Weill Festival in Dessau, Germany.

External links

• www.helenschneider.com official homepage
• www.helenschneider.de official Edel homepage
• Helen Schneider at the Internet Movie Database