Maria Schneider

He was born in Paris, and died in Paris. Maria Schneider was born on March 27, 1952. She was the daughter of the model Marie-Christine Schneider, her father, the actor Daniel Gelin, never recognized her, the actress pointed out that he had only seen her three times in her life her. Her first on-screen appearance occurred in  Lives Cut short  (1969), a Terence Young film where she was not even credited. Before she had been doing theater since she was 15 years old, and that she did not have any specific training in the field of acting. Of course, she had something special about her brown curls, eyes of the same color, and a good type.

In  Madly  (1971) he coincided with Alain Delon , but to say that he rubbed shoulders with the legendary actor would be excessive, since again his role was very small. The same can be said of other French titles such as  The Spinster  (1972). However, her name was going to give a lot to talk about that same year, when she was selected to work with Marlon Brando , under the orders of Bernardo Bertolucci , in  Last Tango in Paris .. The highly sexual content of the tape raised a real storm of comments, and the name of the actress was forever linked to that type of highly erotic cinema; the actress herself plunged into a dark pit of sexual scandals and addictions typical of those years. She would still work with Michelangelo Antonioni three years later in  The Reporter (1975) , opposite Jack Nicholson .

With the passing of the years and a certain maturity, he would rethink his life, to which he took a remarkable turn. Schneider was very explicit when talking about the “tango” experience not having been as satisfactory as some seemed to believe: “She was inexperienced. She wanted to make me famous. The chance to work alongside Marlon Brando was a dream come true. It was a myth to me. And I didn’t think twice. But that scene that, for better or worse, so many reproach me for now, was not foreseen. Brando invented it with the tacit complicity of director Bernardo Bertolucci. Who since then I have never wanted to see again.” The actress was emphatic in explaining that “when I returned home after filming it, I felt humiliated as a woman and instrumentalized as an actress. I saw that I had hit bottom in my own dignity, but I did not imagine that it would have such a worldwide echo. What a success!

If Schneider was dissatisfied with Bertolucci and Brando, she would make a great friendship with another Italian director, Franco Zeffirelli , who directed her in  Jane Eyre (1996) . And he was very grateful because “it made me rediscover religion. Franco is a practicing Catholic, very devoted to the Virgin. With him I began to pray. And I was finally able to look in the mirror without feeling like a piece of trash.”

Her somewhat erratic career was developed by the actress with French and Italian directors. Some as well-known as René Clément – ​​La Baby Sitter  (1975)–, Daniel Duval – Quite a Woman  (1979), which gave him a César nomination–, Jacques Rivette – Merry-Go-Round (1981) –, Luigi Comencini – Cercasi Gesù  (1982)–, Marco Bellocchio – Condemnation  (1991)–, Cyril Collard – Wild Nights  (1992)–… In  Violanta  (1979) he coincided with Lucia Bosé and Gérard Depardieu. Otro complicado compañero de reparto fue Klaus Kinski, enHaine (1980). La última película de Scheider, La clienta, data de 2008.