Romy Schneider

Romy Schneider was born in Vienna on September 23, 1938 to stage-and-screen actor Wolf Albach-Retty and popular film star Magda Schneider. Her mother helped launch her acting career and her appearance as Empress Elizabeth of Austria in the Sissi films in the mid-1950s confirmed her as a star. She moved to Paris, learned to speak French fluently, and became a leading lady of international cinema, working with Luchino Visconti, Orson Welles, Otto Preminger, Henri-Georges Clouzot, and, most prominently, Claude Sautet. She won two César Awards for Best Actress for her work in L'important C'est D'aimer (1975) and Une Histoire Simple (1978).