Early Life
Schneider was born Marie Christine Gélin, the daughter of French actor Daniel Gélin and Romanian-born Marie-Christine Schneider, who ran a bookstore in Paris. She met her father only three times and took her mother's last name and was raised by her mother near the French border with Germany.
As a teenager she adored films, going to the cinema up to four times a week, and she left home at 15 after an argument with her mother. Schneider made stage acting debut at age 15. where she scratched out a living as a film extra and a model. While working as an extra she met Brigitte Bardot, who knew her father and offered Maria a room in her house. Through Bardot, Maria also met important figures in the film business. Warren Beatty introduced her to the William Morris agency, and her first break came in 1970, when she appeared in Madly, starring Alain Delon and directed by Roger Kahane.
Read more about this topic: Maria Schneider (actress)
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