Remembering Romy Schneider
The Swimming Pool
Schneider's greatest successes were in France. In 1968 her performance in the thriller "The Swimming Pool" with Alain Delon, caused a sensation and changed her image with her sexy performance. The pair followed up this success with "The Assassination of Trotsky" in 1972. She is pictured here with her new image in 1971 new hair style created by Paris Master Coiffeur "Alexandre".
The Sissi Story
"Sissi" was a hit in the German speaking world, doing much to perpetuate the myth of Empress Elizabeth (the Princess Diana of her era) and cementing Romy Schneider's popularity. The success of the initial film spawned two sequels, "Sissi — The Young Empress" (1956) and "Sissi — Fateful Years of an Empress" (1957), both starring Schneider. Schneider later said "Sisi sticks to me like glue," of her enduring fame for the role. The film are still shown every Christmastime on German and Austrian TV.
Personal Tragedy
Romy Schneider seen Paris with her son David after receiving her third Cecar award in Paris, France, February 1981. David died on July 5, 1981 after being pierced by a spike of a forged fence over which he tried to climb but fatally slipped. In the same year Schneider separated from her second husband Daniel Biasini. David's death devasted Schneider, and she began to drink heavily.
The Austrian Princess
In 1955, when she was just 17 years old, Romy Schneider took the role for which she remains best known, in the romantic story of Sissi, the Empress of Austria. The biopic tells a rose-tinted version of the meeting of Princess Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sissi) with Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, and their subsequent marriage.
The Film Star
Despite turbulence in her personal life, Schneider stayed in France and enjoyed considerable professional success. She continued to act with Delon after their break-up, and he introduced her to the director Luchino Visconti, for whom she performed in in John Ford's play "'Tis a pity she's a whore" She also caught the eye of Orson Welles who cast her in his film version of Kafka's "The Trial" in 1962. In the mid sixties Schneider spent time in Hollywood, appearing in "Good Neighbor Sam" with Jack Lemmon, and in 1965 "What's New, Pussycat?" with Peter O'Toole, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen
A New Love
In 1975 Schneider married her French private secretary Daniel Biasini in Berlin (pictured). In 1977 their daughter Sarah Magdalena Biasini, was born. She later became an actress.
Rosemarie Magdalena
Romy Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach-Retty in Vienna on September 23, 1938. When she was 7 years old, her parents divorced. Romy's German mother, Magda Schneider, also an actress, introduced her daughter to the profession. She appeared in her first film when she was just 15.
Meeting Delon
Eager to shrug off the Sissi image, Schneider took on darker roles. It was during the filming of "Christine" in 1959 that she met and fell in love with her French co-star Alain Delon. It was the beginning of Schneider's turbulent romantic life. They are pictured here with Schneider's mother celebrating their engagement in Lugano, Switzerland in 1959. They never married however, and in 1963 Delon left her for another woman. Schneider cut her wrists when she found out, but was taken to hospital in time.
Marriage to Meyen
In 1966 Romy Schneider married the German director and actor Harry Meyen and in the same year their son, David Christopher Meyen (pictured), was born. The couple divorced in 1975 and in 1979 Harry Meyen committed suicide.
A Life Cut Short
On May 29, 1982 Romy Schneider was found dead in her Paris appartment, aged just 43. Rumours swirled that she had overdosed on alcohol and sleeping pills, but her death was officially recorded as heart failure. On the 25th anniversary of her death this year, her life-long friend Alain Delon called on the guests at the Cannes Film Festival to remember the "marvelous" Romy Schneider, not with silence, but a 25 second applause.