Romy Schneider made her acting debut at 15 alongside her mother, Magda Schneider, in the German drama film ‘When the White Lilacs Bloom Again’ (1953), followed by the musical comedy ‘Fireworks’ (1954) and the Austrian historical romantic comedy ‘Victoria in Dover’ (1954), wherein she essayed the young ‘Queen Victoria.’
Schneider’s performance as ‘Empress Elisabeth of Austria’ in the romantic biopic trilogy ‘Sissy’ (1955, 1956,1957) proved her breakthrough role. She next starred in the drama film ‘The Last Man’ (1955), the comedy film ‘Kitty and the Great Big World’ (1956), the historical drama ‘The Girl and the Legend’ (1957), the romantic comedy drama ‘Monpti’ (1957), and the drama film ‘Mädchen in Uniform’ (1958).
Schneider played the lead role in the period drama film ‘Christine’ (1958), the remake of her mother’s 1933 film ‘Liebelei.’ After moving to Paris, she starred in several French films, including the romantic comedy ‘Mademoiselle Ange’ (1959), the romantic period film ‘Magnificent Sinner’ (1959), the crime thriller ‘Purple Noon’ (1960), and the comedy anthology ‘Boccaccio ‘70’ (1962).
Schneider starred in Orson Welles’ drama film ‘The Trial’ (1962), which was based on Franz Kafka’s novel. She also starred in several Hollywood films, such as the war film ‘The Victors’ (1963), the drama film ‘The Cardinal’ (1963), screwball comedies ‘Good Neighbor Sam’ (1964) and ‘What’s New, Pussycat?’ (1965), and the drama film ’10:30P.M. Summer’ (1966).
Schneider’s French films of that period were ‘L’Enfer’ (1964), ‘L’Amour a la mer’ (1964), ‘La voleuse’ (1966), WWII spy-film ‘Triple Cross’ (1966). She next starred in the psychologicalthriller ‘La piscine’ (1969), the comedy thriller ‘Otley’ (1968), the social drama ‘La califfa’ (1970), and drama films, ‘My Lover, My Son’ (1970) and ‘Bloomfield’ (1971).
Schneider’s performance in Claude Sautet’s award-winning romantic drama ‘The Things of Life’ (1970) brought her huge popularity. She also starred in Sautet’s crime drama ‘Max et les ferrailleurs’ (1971) and the romantic film ‘Cesar et Rosalle’ (1972). In Luchino Visconti-directed biographical ‘Ludwig’ (1973), she again portrayed ‘Elisabeth of Austria.’
French-film ‘That Most Important Thing: Love’ (1974) and Sautet’s drama film ‘Une histoire simple’ (1978) won her ‘César Awards.’ Her further notable films were the historical drama ‘The Assassination of Trotsky’ (1972), the crime comedy ‘Le trio infernal’ (1974), the psychological-thriller ‘Innocents with Dirty Hands’ (1975), the award-winning ‘Le vieux fusil’ (1975) and Sautet’s drama film ‘Mado’ (1976). In the sci-fi film ‘Death Watch’ (1980), she played a woman on her death bed. After the psychological crime drama ‘Garde á vue’ (1981), she last appeared in the drama film ‘The Passerby’ (1982).