Actress Maria Schneider passes away at the age of 58


Best known for her risky performance in 1972’s Last Tango in Paris, French actress Maria Schneider passed away this morning at the age of 58 from a long illness. At the age of 19, she appeared in the racy film with Marlon Brando in a role that immediately caught the media’s attention and spurred quite a bit of controversy.

She also appeared in the The Passenger with Jack Nicholson.

In both films, the actress is a woman the men encounter and establish a close, albeit abnormal, relationship with.

Afterwards, Schneider later focused a good number on foreign films, though the buzz from Last Tango in Paris still followed her.

Although she was oftentimes annoyed by the attention from Last Tango in Paris, her role helped take the film world in a new direction and gain a new freedom.