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| birthname = Rosemarie Magdalena Albach-Retty
| birthname = Rosemarie Magdalena Albach-Retty
| birthdate = [[September 23]], [[1938]]
| birthdate = [[September 23]], [[1938]]
| location = {{flagicon|Austria}} [[Vienna, Austria]]
| location = {{flagicon|Germany|Nazi}} [[Vienna, Austria]]
| deathdate = [[May 29]], [[1982]], age {{#expr:(1982)-(1938)-((1)<(5)or(1)=(5)and(20)<(4))}}
| deathdate = [[May 29]], [[1982]], age {{#expr:(1982)-(1938)-((1)<(5)or(1)=(5)and(20)<(4))}}
| deathplace = {{flagicon|France}} [[Paris, France]]
| deathplace = {{flagicon|France}} [[Paris, France]]

Revision as of 12:41, 4 September 2007

Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider in the late 50s
Born
Rosemarie Magdalena Albach-Retty

Romy Schneider (September 23, 1938 – May 29, 1982) was an Austro-German actress.

Early life

She was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach-Retty in Vienna into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her father Wolf Albach-Retty of Austria and her German mother Magda Schneider . After the divorce in 1945, Magda took charge of Romy and her brother Wolfi, eventually supervising the young girl's career, often appearing alongside her daughter. Romy thus made her film debut in Wenn der weisse Flieder wieder blüht (1953), at the age of 15. Young Romy's career was also overseen by her stepfather, Hans-Herbert Blatzheim, a noted restaurateur who Schneider indicated had an unhealthy interest in her [citation needed].

In the film Mädchenjahre einer Königin (Girlhood of a Queen, Ernst Marischka, 1954) Romy Schneider for the first time portrayed a royal. This Austrian movie is about the early years of Queen Victoria of Britain, in particular her first encounter with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Schneider's breakthrough, however, came with her portrayal of Princess Elisabeth of Bavaria -- later to become Empress Elisabeth of Austria -- in the romantic biopic Sissi (1955) and its two sequels (1956 and 1957).

Soon tired of the saccharine image these movies had bestowed upon her, Schneider was eager for the chance to star in the much more sombre Christine (1958), a remake of Max Ophüls's 1933 film Liebelei (itself based upon a play by Arthur Schnitzler). It was during the filming of Christine that Schneider fell in love with French actor Alain Delon, who co-starred in the movie. She abruptly left Germany to join him in Paris, creating a national scandal. Schneider became engaged to Delon in 1959. It was to be a pivotal point in both her personal and professional life.

Schneider stayed in France, slowly gaining the interest of film directors such as (Orson Welles) Le Procès (1963), based upon Franz Kafka's The Trial and was introduced by Delon to Luchino Visconti.

Under Visconti's direction, she gave metamorphic performances in John Ford's play "'Tis a pity she's a whore" and in the film "Boccaccio '70" (episode: The Job), where her delicate, feline beauty and fierce sensuality contrasted with the more obvious charms of Anita Ekberg and Sophia Loren (Coco Chanel made her costumes). A brief stint in Hollywood included appearances in Good Neighbor Sam, a 1964 comedy with Jack Lemmon, and 1965 What's New, Pussycat? costarring Peter O'Toole, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen who also wrote the screenplay).

Romy Schneider's private life continued turbulently. Dumped by Delon (they never married) in 1963, she married (1966) and divorced (1975) Harry Meyen (1924 - 1979), a German director and actor who later committed suicide. The couple had a son, David Christopher Meyen (1966–1981). In 1975, Schneider married Daniel Biasini, her private secretary; they separated in 1981. Their daughter Sarah Magdalena Biasini (b. July 14, 1977) is also an actress.

Schneider continued starring in films with Alain Delon. On a break from filming after marriage and motherhood, she soon realized she wanted and needed to continue working as an actress. "Just then," she later remembered, "Alain called me up and asked if I exclusively had husband and children on my mind, or would be interested in doing a movie".

The movie, a sexy thriller titled La Piscine (The Swimming Pool) (1968) was a sensation and added yet another dimension to Schneider's on-screen persona. The Assassination of Trotsky (1972) followed and Delon remained a lifelong friend, coming to her aid during difficult times.

Romy Schneider reigned in France as an actress during the 1970s, giving remarkable performances in films such as Le vieux fusil, Max et les ferrailleurs and the crowd pleasers Les choses de la vie and Cesar et Rosalie. The harsh L'important c'est d'aimer, garnered her first Cesar (France's equivalent of the Oscar).

Ludwig, Visconti's 1972 film about the life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, featured her as a much more complex, mature, even bitter Elisabeth of Austria. "Sissi sticks to me just like oatmeal," Schneider once said. Reportedly, a portrait of her taken from the Visconti film was the only one of her roles she had displayed in her home.

Worth mentioning among her other films is the macabre Le Trio infernal (1974) with Michel Piccoli, and what may have been her greatest performance, a chilling turn in Garde à vue with Michel Serrault and Lino Ventura (1981).

In 1980 she starred in Bertrand Tavernier's prophetic La mort en direct (Deathwatch), based on D. G. Compton's novel, playing a dying woman whose last days are watched on national television via a camera implanted in the brain of a journalist (Harvey Keitel). Her last film was La Passante du Sans-Souci (The Passerby, 1982).

Death

Schneider began drinking alcohol in excess after the sudden death, on July 5, 1981, of her 14-year-old son, David. David had attempted to climb the spiked fence at his stepfather's parents home when he punctured his femoral artery. He got himself off the fence and into the house for help but by the time the ambulance got him to the hospital he had lost too much blood and died. When Romy was found dead in her apartment in Paris, France on May 29, 1982, at the age of 43, it was suggested that she had committed suicide by taking a lethal cocktail of alcohol and sleeping pills. However, no post-mortem examination was carried out. She was declared to have died from cardiac arrest.

Following her burial, it became known that her companion Laurent Petin had buried her with a large amount of gold jewelery, which led to her tomb being ransacked by thieves. She was later reburied in a more secure means. These circumstances were similar to that of Benny Hill after his burial.

Selected Filmography

Trivia

In the German TV programme Unsere Besten (the German version of 100 Greatest Britons) she came in 78th.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Romy_Schneider&oldid=155617822"