Romy Schneider La Cinémathèque Française

40 years after her death, Romy Schneider (23 September 1938-29 May 1982) is still as beloved and popular as ever. The European actress, with a career that began in Germany and continued in France, became a star with films that forever marked the history of cinema.

However, the tragedy that marked the end of her life has taken precedence over what preceded it. The story of a woman as... Show more

40 years after her death, Romy Schneider (23 September 1938-29 May 1982) is still as beloved and popular as ever. The European actress, with a career that began in Germany and continued in France, became a star with films that forever marked the history of cinema.

However, the tragedy that marked the end of her life has taken precedence over what preceded it. The story of a woman as a bundle of neuroses, prone to melancholy and desperate to the bone sells better to the media. Especially if she was stunningly beautiful and one of the greatest actresses in the history of cinema.

This exhibition shows how she became an icon. Find out who she was through her letters, her notes, and some of her testimonies to journalists – who she held in suspicion. She's been brought back to life through her roles, her texts, her radio and television interviews, her diary, and behind-the-scenes shoots.

Ultimately, her's is a human story. Always full of stage fright, of doubts, she never stopped questioning herself about her legitimacy, her game, her beauty.