Maria Schneider, the French star of “Last Tango in Paris,” has died at the age of 58.
The actress, who was 19 when she starred opposite 48-year-old Marlon Brando in Bernardo Bertolucci‘s 1972 film, died Thursday morning in Paris after a “long illness,” a source close to the actress told Agence-France Press.
According to people.com, she had suffered from cancer.
Schneider was the daughter of French actor Daniel Gelin and French model and bookstore owner Marie-Christine Schneider.
The part in “Last Tango in Paris” was only her second screen role. The movie went on to gain notoriety for its sexual content, including several full-frontal nude scenes of Schneider and graphic sex scenes with Brando, including an infamous scene involving butter.
In 2007, Schenider told the Daily Mail she felt “humiliated” by that particular moment in the film.
“I felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci,” she told the British newspaper. “After the scene, Marlon didn’t console me or apologize. Thankfully, there was just one take.”
Four years later, Schneider abandoned the “Caligula” film set to check into a mental hospital in Rome, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. She was reportedly dismissed from the film soon after due to her unannounced departure and her refusal to do nude scences.
Though Schneider could never reclaim the fame she earned from “Last Tango,” she starred opposite Jack Nicholson in “The Passenger” in 1975.
Her most recent role was a supporting part in 2008 in a romantic drama called “Cliente.”
Funeral details will reportedly be announced soon.
With News Wire Services
