Tragedies in the life of Romy Schneider, the iconic actress from 'Sissi'

In the 60s and 70s, Romy Schneider became a cinema icon thanks to her elegance and unique personality.

From the tender and young "Sissi" of her early career, she then embodies a modern and liberated woman, in life as on screen. However, if professional successes have marked Romy Schneider's life, it has also been marked by many personal dramas.

Let us go back several decades to understand the complexity of her existence and her tragic destiny, which still contribute today to fueling her myth.

Rosemarie Magdalena Albach was born in Vienna on September 23, 1938, at the beginning of World War II. She is the daughter of Austrian actor Wolf Albach-Retty and German actress and singer Magda Schneider.

Pictured are Wolf Albach-Retty and Magda Schneider in the film 'Two Happy People'

Little Rosemarie's family was close to Adolf Hitler's circle. Her paternal grandmother (the singer Rosa Albach-Retty) and her father (photo), an SS sympathizer, were both on the regime's "divine privilege list" as artists useful to N a z i propaganda.

Magda Schneider (photo) had a special relationship with the German dictator. So much so that her daughter, Romy Schneider, was always convinced that her mother had intimate relations with the N a z i leader, as she confided in 1976 to her friend, Alice Schwarzer: "She was convinced that her mother had had a sexual relationship with Hitler," recalled the German journalist in the documentary 'Conversation with Romy Schneider'. A story that haunted the actress throughout her life.

As an adult, Romy Schneider did everything she could to free herself from her parents' dark past. For example, she repeatedly played victims of Nazism on the silver screen and gave her children Jewish names.

Romy Schneider was only 4 years old when her parents separated. She formed a deep bond with her mother, with whom she returned to live in occupied Austria at the war's end. At that time, due to her closeness to the Nazi leaders, Magda Schneider lost many job contracts and found herself facing great financial difficulties. Romy Schneider spent a large part of her schooling in an Austrian religious boarding school.

In 1953, fresh out of boarding school, Romy Schneider received a call from her mother asking her to join her in Cologne (Germany) to star alongside her in the film 'When the White Lilacs Bloom Again' by Hans Deppe. The film was a huge success in West Germany, propelling Romy Schneider to the forefront and marking the beginning of her career.

In December 1953, Magda Schneider married restaurateur Hans Herbert Blatzheim. He became the young actress's agent. At the time, there was alleged abuse of Romy by her stepfather. In the documentary 'Conversation with Romy Schneider', Alice Schwarzer reveals one of the German actress's most painful secrets. "She told me 'he [her father-in-law, editor's note] tried to sleep with me, and not just once'. She said this in a violent and frankly hurt voice as if it had happened yesterday."

At the age of 16, Romy Schneider began filming the film 'Sissi' by Ernst Marischka, in which she played Empress Elizabeth of Austria, the role that would mark her life. Never far from her daughter, Magda Schneider plays the mother of the empress in the film.

The film tells a fictionalized story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as 'Sissi', and her husband Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Its success was such that director Ernst Marischka undertook a second and then a third installment of 'Sissi'. Romy Schneider was reluctant to come back for the sequels, as she felt increasingly alienated from her character, who was idealized in the film.

Romy Schneider opposed a fourth installment of 'Sissi', to the great displeasure of her father-in-law and agent. He had been investing the fortune she made in hotels and restaurants. Her mother, meanwhile, was trying to restore her image after her controversial past.

Romy Schneider was adored in Germany and filmed many films alongside 'Sissi', often accompanied by her mother. She notably played in 'A Little Corner of Paradise' (1957) and 'Girls in Uniform' (1958) with Lilli Palmer, a German star of the time.

At only 19 years old, Romy Schneider was known throughout the world. It was at this time that she met the unknown actor Alain Delon on the set of 'Christine' (1958). Their first relationship was quite stormy, but they ended up falling in love and forming an emblematic couple.

Feeling stifled by her mother and her country, Romy Schneider moved to France in 1958 with Alain Delon. Germany felt betrayed by her departure and would never forgive her.

However, Romy Schneider's career struggled to take off in France, while that of Alain Delon, to whom she was engaged, exploded. "I was madly in love with Alain," she said in the documentary 'Conversations'. "But I suffered a lot because I saw Alain working with the great directors, and I said to myself 'But what am I going to become?' Because, after all, I was made for this profession". In the end, the German actress turned to theater.

Romy Schneider's acting career eventually rebounded. She notably starred in 'The Trial' (1962) and 'The Cardinal' (1963), films for which she won several awards. But in her private life, things were not going well. Alain Delon left her after five years of relationship.

In March 1965, at the opening of a restaurant in Berlin, Romy Schneider met the actor and director Harry Meyen. They married in the summer of 1966, and a few months later, the actress gave birth to her first child, David. She put her career on hold.

In 1968, she received a call from her ex, Alain Delon, who offered her the role of Marianne, his partner in 'La Piscine' by Jacques Deray. The film, starring Jane Birkin and Maurice Ronet, was a success with both audiences and critics. It completely relaunched Romy Schneider's career.

In France, her career returned to the top! The actress appeared in about fifteen films in the early 1970s, including 'Les Choses de la Vie' (1970), 'César et Rosalie' (1972), and 'Ludwig: Twilight of the Gods' (1973), in which she played a 'new Sissi'. At the same time, she separated from Harry Meyen in 1972, but the divorce was not pronounced until three years later.

In 1976, Romy Schneider won the César Award for Best Actress for her performance in 'L'important c'est d'aimer' (1975). Three years later, in 1979, the Académie des César awarded her the prestigious prize again for her role in 'Une histoire simple' (1978). She was then one of the French people's favorite actresses.

On the private side, she rebuilt her life with the journalist Daniel Biasini, whom she married in 1975. In the summer of 1977, she gave birth to her second child, the future actress Sarah Biasini.

Sadly, a new tragedy soon shattered her happiness. In the spring of 1979, while she was on vacation in Mexico with her daughter, she learned of the death of her ex-husband, Harry Meyen. The father of her son had tragically taken his life after several failed drug rehabilitation treatments.

Photo: Romy Schneider on the set of 'Bloodbound' (1979)

The year 1981 was probably the worst of her life. The actress separated from Daniel Biasini in February 1981. In the spring, she broke her foot jumping off a rock, and then, a few weeks later, she was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in her kidney. Romy Schneider underwent surgery and remained hospitalized for several months. But this pain was only tiny compared to what she was about to experience...

In July 1981, after an afternoon with his friends, David Meyen returned to his paternal grandparents' house, where he had been living for several months. But the two-meter-high gate was closed. In order not to disturb his loved ones, he decided to climb it, as he had done several times in the past. Unfortunately, he lost his balance and, in his fall, impaled himself on the spikes of the gate. He died that same evening in a hospital, at the age of 14.

This time, Romy Schneider would not recover from the shock. After the death of her son, she tried to get her life back on track, but the actress was devastated and seriously depressed. On May 29, 1982, she was found unconscious in her Parisian apartment by her new partner, Laurent Pétin. According to some media reports, medication and alcohol were found on her desk, next to a letter written by her hand, in which she apologized for her absence from an interview she could no longer attend. A long erasure suggests that she died while writing the letter. She was 43 years old.

The cause of her death has never been officially identified. While some believe she took her own life, others think it was an accidental overdose. For their part, the actress's relatives are convinced that she died of a sudden heart attack. But no one will ever have the answer, because the magistrate in charge of investigating her death closed the case without an autopsy so as "not to destroy the myth".

As a symbol, a Star of David was tied around her neck before her burial. Romy Schneider's life and death made her a true legend. Her film career was honored with a posthumous César in 2008, received by Alain Delon. He would admit a few years later that Romy Schneider had been "the greatest love of his life."

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