Romy Schneider was a German-French film actress who appeared in such features as Sissi and
The Swimming Pool before her tragic death.
Though Romy was initially pigeonholed as a naïve and innocent waif during the early
days of her career, she eventually managed to transform herself into a slightly more
intimidating sex symbol.
Sadly, not long after making this successful career transition, Romy passed away.
Join Facts Verse as we explore how troubled German goddess Romy Schneider met a tragic
end.
Romy Schneider Had Acting in Her Blood Romy Schneider was born on September 32, 1938,
in Vienna, Austria.
The young girl was born into a family of established actors, and it was her mother who ended up
pushing her into becoming an actress herself at the age of only 15.
Though Romy made her debut on the screen at the age of 15, it wouldn’t be until a couple
years later that the young woman would receive the role that would make her a star.
That role came in the 1955 film Sissi, which saw Romy tasked with playing the titular role.
For those who are unaware, Sissi was the first film in a trilogy of features depicting the
life of the real-life figure Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who was known colloquially by
the name “Sissi”.
The audience adored Romy in the role of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and the young actress
went on to reprise the role in both of Sissi’s sequels.
In 1958, Romy took a part in the 1958 film Christine, which was a remake of the 1933
film Playing at Love.
Romy’s mother had been the female lead of Playing at Love, and Romy’s role in Christine
saw her playing the same role that her mother had popularized in the original.
Given that Romy’s mother was the one in charge of the burgeoning star’s career,
it stood to reason that the stage mother was grateful for the opportunity to literally
see her daughter step into her shoes.
Notable French actor Alain Delon played Romy’s romantic interest in the film, and the two
stars fell in love during the picture’s filming.
Romy Fell in Love with Alain Delon Romy and Alain first met at the Orly Airport
shortly before the filming of Christine began.
According to Romy, she was initially put off by how vain she perceived Alain Delon to be.
However, she eventually warmed up to the handsome French star over the course of the ensuing
shoot.
By the time Christine was done filming, Romy and Alain were in love.
The two became engaged during the movie’s filming, but never ended up actually tying
the knot.
Still, they stayed together for a period of several years, with their relationship not
coming to an end until Romy received a breakup letter from Alain in 1963.
Despite this breakup, the two would reunite on the screen many years later in the picture
La Piscine.
If there was any bad blood between the two stars, they were able to effectively hide
it for the cameras.
During Romy Schneider’s relationship with Alain Delon, the two stars moved to Paris.
Romy was experiencing some career ennui as a result of being typecast in roles similar
to her titular turn in Sissi.
The actress desperately wanted a change of scenery and hoped that moving to Paris might
help initiate a new and more rewarding stage of her career.
The actress’s intuition ended up paying off, as she went on to collaborate with such
notable directors as Orson Welles and Luchino Visconti after moving to the French city.
Romy Schneider’s First Marriage Ended in Suicide
Not long after Romy Schneider received her breakup letter from Alain Delon, the actress
went on to marry her first husband.
Romy’s first husband was a fellow German film star by the name of Harry Meyen, and
the two tied the knot in 1966.
Not long afterward, the two had a child together by the name of David.
Despite this little miracle, the two were having an incredibly hard time making their
marriage work.
Romy and Harry ended up staying married from 1966 to 1975, though their marriage was turbulent
throughout the majority of that time period.
In fact, their marriage was so turbulent that it ended up inspiring Harry Meyen to commit
suicide.
Whereas Romy’s relationship with Alain ended with a decidedly impersonal breakup letter,
her relationship with Harry ended when she received news of his passing.
While it sounds like Romy Schneider and Harry Meyen’s marriage was pretty hard on the
latter figure, it was also hard on Romy herself.
It was during her marriage to Harry that Romy started up a habit of substance abuse that
would plague her until her own tragic end not all that long afterward.
Before then, however, Romy would have to deal with another shocking tragedy that was soon
to come her way: the death of her son.
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Romy’s Career Was Still Going Well Amidst Tragedy
Although Romy Schneider’s personal life wasn’t going great during the 1970s, her
career was still going fairly well.
Around the same time as her first husband’s suicide, Romy Schneider became the first actress
in history to win in the category of Best Actress at the César Awards.
The awards ceremony was created as France’s alternative to the Academy Awards, and Romy
won for her performance in 1975’s That Most Important Thing: Love.
In addition to Sissi, that film stands as one of Romy’s most iconic works.
After becoming the first-ever star to win Best Actress at the César Awards, Romy went
on to win the award again only a few years later for her performance in 1978’s A Simple
Story.
After several decades in the entertainment industry, Romy was a bigger star than ever
in the country of France.
However, the actress only had a few years left in her before her life would be tragically
cut short at the age of only 43.
Romy Remarried Incredibly Fast While one might assume that Romy Schneider
needed time to heal after learning about her first husband’s suicide, she actually seems
to have gotten over the ordeal fairy fast!
The same year that her marriage to Harry Meyen ended as a result of the actor’s tragic
death, Romy married a writer by the name of Daniel Biasini.
Romy and Daniel were married from 1975 to 1981 and had a daughter named Sarah.
Though Romy Schneider was essentially at the top of the world as far as her career was
concerned entering into the 1980s, the actress’s personal life wasn’t nearly as perfect.
Romy continued using illicit substances over the course of her marriage to Daniel, and
it soon grew apparent that the true love of the actress’s life was tranquilizers.
In 1981, Romy would be forced to live through the most tragic experience of her relatively
short life when her first child was tragically impaled on a fence.
This proved to be the end of young David, and Romy never recuperated from the loss.
Romy Couldn’t Overcome the Death of Her Son
Not long after the death of her firstborn child, Romy Schneider passed away herself.
Romy died in May of 1982, at the aforementioned age of only 43 years old.
Romy’s death came as a shock to the public, with many people the world over having grown
to adore the actress thanks to her numerous iconic roles.
Many suspected that Romy took her own life in the wake of her son’s tragic death, though
the authorities eventually decreed that it was a spontaneous cardiac arrest that ended
up doing the actress in.
Still, there are many who suspect that Romy’s death was intentional and that the devastated
actress intentionally overdosing on sleeping pills was the cause of the cardiac arrest.
Romy Schneider’s Complicated Legacy At the time of her tragic death, Romy Schneider
had been at it in the entertainment industry for well over two decades.
The actress had become a star at the age of 17 thanks to her titular turn in Sissi.
Before her passing, Romy had managed to eschew the innocent demeanor that had been imposed
on her as a result of that classic role.
The actress never quite liked being associated with her role in Sissi and its two sequels,
with her instead of wanting to be appreciated by audiences for her more mature roles.
One of the roles the actress was most proud of was her turn in 1969’s The Swimming Pool,
which showed off her depth as an actress.
According to Romy Schneider, being pigeonholed into roles similar to her titular turn in
Sissi felt like being imprisoned in a strait jacket, and she was incredibly grateful when
she was able to leave behind this innocent demeanor as an adult and perform in more risqué
roles.
Despite the fact that Romy ended up being incredibly successful in her transition from
innocent teen waif to full-blown cinematic seductress, this victory wasn’t enough to
satisfy the German-French star.
Romy’s Lesser-Known Love Interests Besides the numerous aforementioned love interests
that Romy Schneider had over the course of her life, there were also a few other notable
figures that the actress was romantically involved with at one point or another.
Romy’s costar in the feature That Most Important Thing: Love was a popular singer by the name
of Jacques Dutronc, and the two started up a relationship during the picture’s filming.
Romy was still married to Harry Meyen at the time, though they were separated.
Perhaps it was seeing that Romy had moved onto another man that caused Harry to pull
the trigger!
Besides Jacques Dutronc, another costar that Romy hooked up with later in her life was
Jean-Louis Trintignant.
The pair hooked up during the filming of a picture in the early 1960s and then reunited
on the screen in the early 1970s.
Although Romy Schneider was at the top of her game as she entered her 40s, the actress’s
tragic personal life sadly won out over her career success and caused her to spiral downwards
towards her untimely death, which may or may not have been a suicide.
Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that there are many who believe to this
day that actress Romy Schneider’s death was actually a suicide and that one of the
actress’s early roles saw her playing a part that her mother had popularized many
years previously?
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