Romy Adventure

There was no shortage of sultry, international starlets during the 1960's, all with varying degrees of cool detachment (Capucine) and erotic allure (Senta Berger). Austrian Romy Schneider managed to convey both; while she radiated undeniable sex appeal, her fierce, feline intelligence prevented her from being just another Continental sexpot. It also meant that she more than held her own against some of the most beautiful, charismatic men on the screen, including Horst Buchholz and real-life lover Alain Delon.


WITH ALAIN DELON, EARLY 1960'S


WITH HORST BUCHHOLZ, 1957

Unlike many of her contemporaries, Schneider was a respected actress who worked with some of the most acclaimed directors of all time (Welles, Visconti, Preminger, Chabrol, etc.); more predictably, her brief stint in Hollywood yielded her least memorable work, the tedious sex comedies Good Neighbor Sam (1964) and What's New, Pussycat (1965). In contrast, her European films netted Schneider two César Awards, the French equivalent of the Oscar.

Romy Schneider's short, stormy life came to an end in 1982 at the age of 43; she was despondent over the accidental death of her 14 year old son, and while the official cause of her death was cardiac arrest, many believed she committed suicide by overdosing on pills and alcohol. Her legacy lives on in the powerful body of work she leaves behind. "I am nothing in life," Romy Schneider once said, "but everything on screen." Nothing could be further from the truth, or more accurate.