Maria Schneider

Maria Schneider — Biography

Jeanne in Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris (1972) remains the part for which the French actress Maria Schneider is best remembered. She was only nineteen when she played opposite Marlon Brando, became known worldwide almost overnight, and carried the weight of that fame for the rest of her life. She later said she learned the details of one scene only moments before it was filmed and found the experience humiliating, a statement that became part of a long debate about working conditions and consent on film sets.

Her career runs in several phases. She moved to Paris at fifteen, took the stage and supported herself as an extra and a model, and entered film circles with the help of Brigitte Bardot. Her first break came in 1970 with Madly, followed by roles in films such as The Old Maid and Merry-Go-Round. After Last Tango in Paris she showed her range opposite Jack Nicholson in Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger (1975), but a reputation for walking out of productions left her unwelcome in the industry for a time. In the early 1980s she restored stability to her personal and professional life and spoke up for equality and better working conditions for actresses.

In later years she appeared in films such as Savage Nights, Bunker Palace Hôtel and Angelo nero, as well as on television; her last film was Josiane Balasko's Cliente. She was the daughter of the actor Daniel Gélin. She died in Paris on 3 February 2011 after a long illness.