Romy Schneider

Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider, June 1971
Born	Rosemarie Magdalena Albach 23 September 1938(1938-09-23) Vienna, Austria
Died	29 May 1982 (aged 43) Paris, France
Occupation	actress
Years active	1953–1982
Spouse(s)	Harry Meyen (1966–1975) Daniel Biasini (1975–1981)
Domestic partner(s)	Alain Delon (1959–1963)

Romy Schneider (23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982) was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.

Early life

Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian-born German father Wolf Albach-Retty and her German mother Magda Schneider. After her parents' divorce in 1945, Magda took charge of Romy and her brother Wolfi, eventually supervising the young girl's career, often appearing alongside her daughter. Schneider made her film debut in Wenn der weisse Flieder wieder blüht (1953), at the age of 15. Her career was also overseen by her stepfather, Hans-Herbert Blatzheim, a noted restaurateur who Schneider indicated had an unhealthy interest in her.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Career

Romy Schneider's first movie was Wenn der weiße Flieder wieder blüht (When the White Lilacs Bloom Again) in 1953, credited as Romy Schneider-Albach. In 1954, Schneider for the first time portrayed a royal, playing a young Queen Victoria in the Austrian film Mädchenjahre einer Königin (known in the U.S. as The Story of Vicky and in Britain as Victoria in Dover). Schneider's breakthrough came with her portrayal of Elisabeth, Empress Consort of Austria, in the romantic biopic Sissi (1955) and its two sequels, Sissi - The Young Empress (1956) and Sissi - Fateful Years of an Empress (1957), all with Karlheinz Böhm, who became a close friend. Less stereotypical films during this busy period include Robinson soll nicht sterben (The Legend of Robinson Crusoe) (1957) putting her among a stellar cast and opposite a young Horst Buchholz, and Monpti (1957), directed by Helmut Käutner and again opposite Buchholz.

Schneider soon starred in Christine (1958), a remake of Max Ophüls's 1933 film Liebelei (itself based upon a play by Arthur Schnitzler and starring her mother Magda Schneider). It was during the filming of Christine that Schneider fell in love with French actor Alain Delon, who co-starred in the movie. She left Germany to join him in Paris and they announced their engagement in 1959.

Schneider decided to live and to work in France, slowly gaining the interest of film directors such as Orson Welles for The Trial (1962), based upon Franz Kafka's The Trial and was introduced by Delon to Luchino Visconti.

Under Visconti's direction, she gave performances in the Théâtre Moderne as Annabella (and Delon as Giovanni) in John Ford's stage play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (1961) and in the film Boccaccio '70 (segment: "The Job"). In 1962 Schneider played Anna in Sacha Pitoëff's production of Chekhov's play The Seagull, also at the Théâtre Moderne. A brief stint in Hollywood included appearances in Good Neighbor Sam, a 1964 comedy with Jack Lemmon, and 1965 What's New Pussycat? co-starring Peter O'Toole, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen who also wrote the screenplay.

Schneider and Delon decided to split up in 1963 although they remained close lifelong friends and continued to work together in such films as La Piscine (The Swimming Pool) (1968) and The Assassination of Trotsky (1972).

Romy Schneider continued to work in France during the 1970s, appearing in films as Les choses de la vie (1970), Max et les ferrailleurs (1971), César et Rosalie (1972), and Le vieux fusil (1975). The harsh L'important c'est d'aimer (1974) garnered her first César Award (France's equivalent of the Oscar).

On 30 October 1974, Romy Schneider created one of the most memorable moments on German television. She was the second guest on Dietmar Schönherr's talk show Je später der Abend (The later the evening) when she, after a rather terse interview, remarked passionately to the last guest, bank robber and author Burkhard Driest: "Sie gefallen mir. Sie gefallen mir sehr." (I like you. I like you a lot.)^[6][7][8][9]

German stamp published in 2000.

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.^[10]

She also acted in Le Trio infernal (1974) with Michel Piccoli, and in Garde à vue (1981) with Michel Serrault and Lino Ventura. An unpleasant incident occurred during this period with leading German film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder who wanted her to play the lead in his 1979 film The Marriage of Maria Braun. Negotiations broke down when he called Schneider a "dumb cow"^[11] and Schneider responded by declaring she would never work with such a beast as Fassbinder.

In 1980 she starred in Bertrand Tavernier's Death Watch (La mort en direct), based on David 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).

Personal life

In July 1966 Schneider married Harry Meyen (1924–1979), a German director and actor who committed suicide in Hamburg, Germany in 1979. The couple had a son, David Christopher, born on December 3, 1966. David died at the age of 14 on 5 July 1981. He had attempted to climb the spiked fence at his stepfather's parents' home when he punctured his femoral artery.

In 1975, Schneider married Daniel Biasini, her private secretary; they separated in 1981. Their daughter Sarah Biasini (born 14 July 1977) is now an actress.

Death

Grave of Romy Schneider and her son in Boissy-sans-Avoir

Schneider began drinking alcohol in excess after the tragic death of her son David. When she was found dead in her apartment in Paris on 29 May 1982, it was suggested that she had committed suicide by taking a lethal cocktail of alcohol and sleeping pills. After another post-mortem examination was carried out, authorities declared that she had died from cardiac arrest. Her tombstone at Boissy-sans-Avoir in the Canton of Montfort-l'Amaury bears the name Rosemarie Albach. Shortly afterwards, Alain Delon arranged for David to be buried in the same grave.^[12]

Enduring popularity

The French journalist Eugène Moineau initiated in 1984 the Prix Romy Schneider; this prize—the most prestigious award for promising actresses in the French film industry—is awarded by a jury each year in Paris in conjunction with the Prix Patrick Dewaere (formerly the Prix Jean Gabin). In 1990, the Austrian newspaper Kurier created the Romy TV Award in honour of Romy Schneider. In 2003, she was voted 78th on the list of the greatest Germans in the German TV programme Unsere Besten (the German version of 100 Greatest Britons)—the second highest ranked actress (Marlene Dietrich was 50th) on that list.

A movie about Romy Schneider's life, titled Eine Frau wie Romy/Une femme comme Romy (A Woman Like Romy) is planned by Warner Bros. for 2009; Schneider's role is going to be played by Yvonne Catterfeld.^[13][14] In March 2008, a $7 million TV production depicting her life under the title Romy was announced; Jessica Schwarz will play the title role.^[15] A musical about Schneider, Romy – Die Welt aus Gold (Romy — The Golden World) was premiered in 2009 at the Theater Heilbronn.^[16]

Selected filmography

Awards

• Bambi: 1957 for Sissi
• BRAVO Otto (German magazine (BRAVO) audience voted prize)
  • 1957: Bronze
  • 1958: Gold
  • 1959: Silver
  • 1971: Silver
  • 1972: Bronze
  • 1977: Bronze
• Étoile de Cristal: 1963 for The Trial
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama: 1963 nominated for The Cardinal
• César Award for Best Actress
  • 1975: won for L'important c'est d'aimer
  • 1976: nominated for Une femme à sa fenêtre
  • 1978: won for Une histoire simple
  • 1979: nominated for Clair de femme
  • 1982: nominated for La Passante du Sans-Souci
• Deutscher Filmpreis Best Actress: 1977 for Group Portrait with Lady
• Premio David di Donatello: 1979 Lifetime Achievement
• Rose d'Or: 1982 for La Passante du Sans-Souci

Awards named after Romy Schneider

• Prix Romy Schneider, French film award established in 1984
• Romy, Austrian award established in 1990

References

Literature

• Hans-Jürgen Tast: Romy Schneider — Ein Leben auf Titelseiten Schellerten 2008, ISBN 978-3-88842-036-8.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Romy Schneider

• Romy Schneider at the Internet Movie Database
• Romy Schneider's Gravesite at Boissy-sans-Avoir

v • d • e César Award for Best Actress 1976 : Romy Schneider • 1977 : Annie Girardot • 1978 : Simone Signoret • 1979 : Romy Schneider • 1980 : Miou-Miou • 1981 : Catherine Deneuve • 1982 : Isabelle Adjani • 1983 : Nathalie Baye • 1984 : Isabelle Adjani • 1985 : Sabine Azéma • 1986 : Sandrine Bonnaire • 1987 : Sabine Azéma • 1988 : Anémone • 1989 : Isabelle Adjani • 1990 : Carole Bouquet • 1991 : Anne Parillaud • 1992 : Jeanne Moreau • 1993 : Catherine Deneuve • 1994 : Juliette Binoche • 1995 : Isabelle Adjani • 1996 : Isabelle Huppert • 1997 : Fanny Ardant • 1998 : Ariane Ascaride • 1999 : Élodie Bouchez • 2000 : Karin Viard • 2001 : Dominique Blanc • 2002 : Emmanuelle Devos • 2003 : Isabelle Carré • 2004 : Sylvie Testud • 2005 : Yolande Moreau • 2006 : Nathalie Baye • 2007 : Marina Hands • 2008 : Marion Cotillard • 2009 : Yolande Moreau