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Maria Schell 1926 - 2005

Maria Schell was born on January 15, 1926 in Austria, and died at age 79 years old on April 26, 2005.

Maria Schell

Maria Margarethe Anna Schell, Seelchen ("little soul"), coined by her colleague Oskar Werner., Maria Schell

January 15, 1926

Austria

April 26, 2005

Austria

Female

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Maria Schell Maria Schell (1926 - 2005)

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Maria Schell's History: 1926 - 2005

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Introduction

Maria Schell Born January 15, 1926 in Vienna, Austria Died April 26, 2005 in Preitenegg, Carinthia, Austria (pneumonia) Birth Name Anna Maria Margarete Schell Nickname Seelchen Maria Schell studied in a religious institution in Colmar (Haut-Rhin, France). She received a dramatic training in Zurich, Switzerland. To pay her studies, she was a secretary there. Besides being a film star; Maria appeared in plays in Zurich, Basel, in Vienna (Josefstad Theater), Berlin, Munich (Kammerspiel Theater), at the Salzburg Festival and went on provincial tours from 1963. Among the plays she performed there were such classics as William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's "Faust" and such modern classics as "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw. Spouse (2) Veit Relin (1966 - 1986) ( divorced) ( 1 child) Horst Hächler (26 April 1957 - 1965) ( divorced) ( 1 child) Mother of Oliver Hächler (b. 1962, now known as Oliver Schell, with Horst Hächler) and actress Marie Theres Relin (b. 30 June 1966, with Veit Relin). Sister of Immy Schell, Maximilian Schell and Carl Schell. Daughter of writer Ferdinand Hermann Schell and actress Margarete Schell Noé. After the Nazis entered Austria in 1938, her family left Vienna and moved to Zurich, Switzerland. Became one of the first movie idols to the postwar generation in the German-speaking countries with her distinctive "smile under tears". Her brother Maximilian Schell made a movie about her in 2002 called My Sister Maria (2002) (aka "Meine Schwester Maria"). Considered 99 Women (1969) (aka "Island of Despair") to be her worst picture. Her breakthrough performance was in Helmut Käutner's The Last Bridge (1954) (aka "Die letzte Brücke"), a touching performance as a tragic heroine, which won her the Best Actress Award at Cannes. Aunt of Nastassja Schell. She was the daughter of Hermann Ferdinand Schell, a Swiss writer, and Margarete Schell Noé, an Austrian actress. Her three siblings, Carl Schell, Maximilian Schell, and Immy Schell, also joined the acting profession. Pictured on an Austrian 68c commemorative postage stamp issued 24 April 2015, two days before the tenth anniversary of her death. She only appeared in one film with her younger brother Maximilian Schell: The Odessa File (1974). Both she and her younger brother Maximilian Schell worked with Hardy Krüger: Maria in As Long as You're Near Me (1953) and Maximilian in A Bridge Too Far (1977). Personal Quotes (2) Memory is the most important thing in life, nobody can take it from you. [on Mercedes McCambridge] A very good actress.
01/15

1926

Birthday

January 15, 1926

Birthdate

Austria

Birthplace

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Ethnicity & Family History

Family Members Parents Margarethe Noé von Nordberg Schell 1905–1995 Siblings Photo Carl Schell 1927–2019 Photo Maximilian Schell 1930–2014 Photo Immaculata Schell Kohut 1935–1992
Professional Career

Career Schell premiered in Steiner's 1942 film Steibruch, side by side with the well-known Swiss actor Heinrich Gretler, and took acting lessons for several theatre engagements. After World War II, she was cast in her first leading role in the 1948 film The Angel with the Trumpet, directed by Karl Hartl. She starred in such films as The Magic Box, Dr. Holl (1951), So Little Time (1952), The Heart of the Matter (1953). Her emotional acting earned her the nickname Seelchen ("little soul"), coined by her colleague Oskar Werner. The 1956 film Gervaise directed by René Clément was also a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film; while in Hollywood, Schell met with Yul Brynner, who urged for her casting in The Brothers Karamazov (1958) in the role of Grushenka. Schell also starred with Gary Cooper in The Hanging Tree (1959), and with Glenn Ford in Cimarron (1960). Other famous movie parts included Le notti bianche (1957), Rose Bernd (1957), and Superman (1978). Schell played Mother Maria in the sequel to Lilies of the Field called Christmas Lilies of the Field, and starred opposite such actors as Marcello Mastroianni, Suzy Delair, and Marlon Brando. In 1976, she starred in a Kojak episode, and also had three guest appearances in the German television series Der Kommissar and two in Derrick, in the episodes "Yellow He" (1977) and "Klavierkonzert" (1978). Schell also appeared on stage, including an acclaimed performance in the 1976 Broadway play Poor Murderer by Pavel Kohout and the leading role in Friedrich Dürrenmatt's play The Visit with the Schauspielhaus Zürich ensemble. Personal life Schell was married twice – first to film director Horst Hächler (divorced in 1965), and second to director Veit Relin (divorced in 1986). Her daughter by her second marriage, actress Marie Theres Relin (born 1966), was married to Bavarian playwright Franz Xaver Kroetz, and has three children; she made a media and internet appearance as a spokeswoman for housewives (If Pigs Could Fly. Die Hausfrauenrevolution, 2004). Affair with Glenn Ford Schell admitted to carrying on a passionate love affair with Glenn Ford in 1960 on location of their film Cimarron. Ford’s son Peter confirmed her story in his 2011 biography of his father Glenn Ford: A Life.[3] In 1981, Schell gave Ford a dachshund puppy which he named Bismarck. The dog became his favorite and a constant source of comfort for him in his later years when he became ill and bedridden. After the dog’s death, he had it cremated and requested that its ashes be buried with him upon his death, which they were when Ford died in 2006. [4] Death Maria Schell's last years were overshadowed by her ill health. She attempted suicide in 1991, and suffered repeated strokes. Her final public appearance was at the premiere of her brother Maximilian's documentary film, My Sister Maria (2002), on her life; both were awarded the Bambi Award for their work. Schell lived reclusively in the remote village of Preitenegg, Carinthia, in the Austrian Alps until her death from pneumonia on 26 April 2005, aged 79. Upon her death, her brother released a statement, saying in part: "Towards the end of her life, she suffered silently, and I never heard her complain. I admire her for that. Her death might have been for her a salvation. But not for me. She is irreplaceable."
04/26

2005

Death

April 26, 2005

Death date

Pneumonia

Cause of death

Austria
Death location

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Obituary

Maria Schell BIRTH 15 Jan 1926 Vienna, Wien Stadt, Vienna (Wien), Austria DEATH 26 Apr 2005 (aged 79) Preitenegg, Wolfsberg Bezirk, Carinthia (Kärnten), Austria BURIAL Ortsfriedhof Preitenegg, Wolfsberg Bezirk, Carinthia (Kärnten), Austria MEMORIAL ID 10860201 · View Source MEMORIAL PHOTOS 2 FLOWERS 488 Actress. She is remembered for winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival in 1956 for her role in the French film "Gervaise," opposite Francois Perier. Her father was a Swiss poet, novelist, playwright and pharmacy owner and her mother was an actress who ran an acting school. In 1938 when she was 12 years old, her family fled Vienna, Austria after the Anschluss, when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany, and they resettled in Zurich, Switzerland. She starred in the films "Dr. Holl" (1951, with Dieter Borsche), "So Little Time" (1952, with Maruis Goring), "The Heart of the Matter" (1953, with Trevor Howard), "White Nights" (1957, with Marcello Mastroianna), "Rose Bernd" (1957, with Raf Vallone), "The Brothers Karamazov" (1958, with Yul Brynner), "The Hanging Tree" (1959, with Gary Cooper), "Cimarron" (1960, with Glenn Ford), "The Odessa File" (1974, with Maximilian Schell and Jon Voight), "The Twist" (1976 with Bruce Dern and Ann-Margret), "Voyage of the Damned" (1976, with Faye Dunaway and Max von Sydow), "Superman" (1978, with Marlon Brando, Christopher Reeve, and Margot Kidder), and "1919" (1985, with Paul Scofield). She played 'Mother Maria' in the sequel to "Lilies of the Field" called "Christmas Lilies of the Field" (1979). She had three guest appearances in the German television series "Der Kommissar" and two in "Derrick," in the episodes "Yellow He" (1977) and "Klavierkonzert" (1978). She was married twice, first to Horst Hachler (1957 until 1965) and then to Veit Relin (1966 until 1988). Among the plays she performed were such classics as William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," Johann Wolfgang Goethe's "Faust," and "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw. Her final public appearance was at the premiere of her brother Maximilian's documentary film, "My Sister Maria" (2002). She died of pneumonia at the age of 79.

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