Romy Schneider - commemorating a star

Romy Schneider would have turned 75 on September 23. The Austrian-born actress is considered one of the few big stars of cinema in Germany. She was a target of the tabloid press all her life and numerous photographs celebrated her magical charisma - such as in this shot from 1961.

Romy Schneider had her first on-screen appearance in the 1953 movie "When the White Lilacs Bloom Again" (pictured). Her big breakthrough was in 1955 when she played Austria's empress in the movie "Sissi." The movie's two sequels were also a phenomenal success. The Sissi trilogy aired in movie theaters worldwide and has been seen by nearly 25 million people.

Her immense success quickly became a burden and Romy Schneider felt constricted and pigeon-holed. So in 1957 she shot the comedy "Love from Paris" together with German director Helmut Käutner in Paris - a first attempt to escape people's expectations. She is pictured here taking a break with film partner Horst Buchholz.

In 1958, Romy Schneider went to France to film the movie "Christine" together with French-Swiss actor Alain Delon. The two quickly hit it off, started dating and shot legendary movies such as the 1969 success "The Swimming Pool." Germany didn't approve of Romy Schneider's French career, especially because she passed on a fourth Sissi movie in favor of work in France.

The actress quickly became an icon of European film. She starred in the screen adaptation of Heinrich Böll's novel "Group Portrait with Lady" in 1976/1977 (pictured) and worked together with major directors of world cinema throughout the 1960s. She shot the movie "The Process" together with Orson Welles and was on camera for the Italian director Luchino Visconti and his movie "Boccaccio '70."

When the acclaimed Yugoslav film director Aleksandar Petrovic casted Romy Schneider for the leading role in Heinrich Böll's screen adaptation of "Group Portrait with Lady," many hoped this would result in Romy Schneider's comeback in Germany. But the film premiere in Cannes in 1977 and was not a success; it flopped at the box office.

In 1972, Romy Schneider played Sissi one more time - in Luchino Visconti's movie "Ludwig." But Visconti's historical drama about the unhappy Bavarian king had nothing to do with Romy Schneider's previous sweet role as Sissi. By her side playing Ludwig II was Helmut Berger.

The French director Claude Sautet became a steady work colleague of Schneider's. Between 1969 and 1978 the two shot five movies, including "The Things of Life" (pictured: Romy Schneider with Michel Piccoli in a love scene), "Max and the Junkmen," and "César and Rosalie," a French romance film.

In the second half of the 1970s, Romy Schneider's personal life increasingly made headlines. Marriages and relationships broke up, her 14-year-old son died, and alcohol and drugs starting taking over her life. The tabloid press jumped at the sensitive and instable actress and a fatal spiral began. Romy Schneider's career success also began to wane.

But despite all of her private breakups and failed movies at the end of her career, Romy Schneider remains one of the few world stars of German cinema. She was a talented actress with an unforgettable charisma and played a broad range of roles. However, one of her most interesting projects never came about: French director Henri-Georges Clouzot’s movie "Hell" (pictured) was canceled in 1964.