- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRosemarie Magdelena Albach-Retty
- Nickname
- Puppele
- Height5′ 4″ (1.63 m)
- Romy Schneider was born on 23 September 1938 in Vienna, Austria into a family of actors. Making her film debut at the age of 15, her breakthrough came two years later in the very popular trilogy Sissi (1955). Her mother, supervising her daughter's career, immediately approved Romy's participation in Christine (1958), the remake of Max Ophüls's Playing at Love (1933), where Magda Schneider once starred herself. During the shooting, she fell in love with her co-star Alain Delon and eventually moved with him to Paris. At that time, she started her international career collaborating with famous directors such as Luchino Visconti and Orson Welles. After Delon had broken up with her in 1964, she married Harry Meyen shortly after. Although she gave birth to a boy, David-Christopher, their relationship was difficult, so they divorced in 1975. Being unsatisfied with her personal life, she turned to alcohol and drugs, but her cinematic career -especially in France- remained intact. She was the first actress, receiving the new created César Award as "Best Actress" for her role in That Most Important Thing: Love (1975). Three years later, she was awarded again for A Simple Story (1978). After a short marriage to her former secretary Daniel Biasini, being the father of her daughter Sarah Biasini, she suffered the hardest blow of her life when her son was impaled on a fence in 1981. She never managed to recover from this loss and died on 29 May 1982 in Paris. Although it was suggested she committed suicide caused by an overdose of sleeping pills, she was declared to have died from cardiac arrest.- IMDb Mini Biography By: fippi2000
- Romy Schneider grew up with her grandmother in Schönau (Berchtesgaden). Her brother Wolf-Dieter was born in 1940. Three years later her parents separated. In September 1944, Romy Schneider started school in Berchtesgaden. At the end of the war in 1945, Romy Schneider moved to the Goldstein boarding school and her parents divorced. Romy Schneider got her first role in 1953 in the film "When the White Lilac Blooms Again" alongside her mother. The film was a success and she was able to play the lead role in the film "Fireworks" together with Lilli Palmer in the same year. Romy Schneider celebrated her big breakthrough in 1955 with the historical film "Sissi", in which she played Empress Elizabeth of Austria-Hungary. The sequel followed in 1956 under the title "Sissi, the Young Empress". Magda Schneider also starred in all three Sissi films. These productions captured the zeitgeist of the mid-1950s, and Romy Schneider captured the hearts of cinema audiences; The role helped her gain enormous popularity, particularly in Germany.
But she only completed the filming of the last Sissi film reluctantly; she wanted to escape the image of the sweet daughter and teenage lover. This was followed by work in which she found it difficult to shake off the "Sissi" cliché. In 1958, Romy Schneider met the French actor Alain Delon, to whom she became engaged on March 22, 1959. In the following years she took part in numerous productions with well-known actors and directors. She filmed under the direction of Luchino Visconti, Orson Welles, Otto Preminger, Claude Chabrol and Constantin Costa-Gavras, among others. In 1961 she played the piece "It's a shame that you're a prostitute" together with Alain Delon under Luchino Visconti at the Theater de Paris. In 1963 she appeared in the Kafka film adaptation "The Trial" directed by Osron Welles. She received the "Étoile de Cristal" award from the Académie du Cinema for her acting achievements. In the same year she signed a contract with the Columbia film company in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Romy Schneider had become an internationally recognized actress. In 1964, Romy Schneider suffered a painful separation from Alain Delon, which led her to attempt suicide.
In the same year, 1964, she was honored with the "Victoire du Cinéma Francais" award for best foreign actress. She later married the theater director Harry Meyen on June 15, 1966, with whom she moved to Berlin-Grünewald. Son David-Christopher was born in the same year. Romy Schneider made big headlines in 1970 when she admitted to the magazine "Stern" that she had had an abortion. In addition, she identified herself as an opponent of Paragraph 218. Further productions followed until 1980, including with Ives Montand. In 1975 her marriage to Harry Meyen was divorced; she paid him a settlement of 1.5 million DM and retained custody of her son. In 1979, Harry Meyen committed suicide in Hamburg. In 1975 Romy Schneider married her secretary Daniel Biasini. The following year she was awarded her first Best Actress César, the most important French film award, for her role in That Most Important Thing: Love (1975). The relationship with Biasini resulted in daughter Sarah, who was born on July 21, 1977 in St. Tropez.
Two years later, in 1979, she received her second César for her role in A Simple Story (1978). This film, as well as the entire work of the sensitive actress, was honored with the Italian "David di Donatello" prize in 1980. In 1981, Romy Schneider divorced her second husband Biasini. In the same year, 1981, her son had a tragic accident while trying to climb over a wrought iron gate in front of his grandparents' house in Paris. Daniel, who was only 14 years old, slipped and died through the top of the gate.
Romy Schneider died of heart failure in her Paris apartment on May 29, 1982 at the age of 43.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth
- SpousesDaniel Biasini(December 18, 1975 - June 1981) (divorced, 1 child)Harry Meyen(July 15, 1966 - June 1975) (divorced, 1 child)
- Children
- Parents
- RelativesRosa Albach-Retty(Grandparent)
- Appeared in many films directed by Ernst Marischka, including the Sissi trilogy
- She never overcame the loss of her son. She suffered from depressions after his death resulting in an alcohol problem.
- She was a favorite of Coco Chanel and one of very few clients that Chanel would see personally.
- Alain Delon placed a piece of paper with the following words on her tomb: "Tu n'as jamais été aussi belle, tu vois j'ai appris quelques mots allemands pour toi: Ich liebe dich meine Liebe" (You have never been so beautful, you see that I learned some words in German for you: I love you my love).
- Friends with Austrian actor Helmut Berger and French designer Coco Chanel. She would often wear clothes designed by Chanel during the 1960s and 1970s.
- Engaged to Alain Delon from 1959 to 1963.
- Sissi sticks to me just like oatmeal.
- Life must go on. My work gives me strength.
- [Alain Delon] Delon? Nothing is colder than a love that has passed away.
- Memories are the best things in life, I think.
- You must not quote to me what I once said. I am wiser now.
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