Maria Schneider (actress) miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth" (1979), in which Schneider said she did not feel right for the part of Mary, mother of Jesus, though later regretted missing out on this opportunity and instead eventually appeared in Zeffirelli's 1996 film "Jane Eyre" in a brief appearance as Bertha Mason. The 1970s were turbulent years for Schneider, marked by drug addiction, overdoses, and a suicide attempt. Schneider said that she disliked the instant fame accorded to her from "Last Tango in Paris". She suffered abuse and began taking drugs. By the 1980s, however, her life had improved: Schneider died of breast cancer on
Maria Schneider (musician) Sting and assisting him as he scored the film "The Color of Money". Before she became one of the most acclaimed composers and bandleaders of her generation, Schneider received an NEA Apprenticeship Grant to study with Bob Brookmeyer in 1985. In 1988, Schneider formed her first band in collaboration with her then-husband, jazz trombonist John Fedchock, and that group appeared at Visiones in Greenwich Village. Both that group and her marriage would dissolve, but Schneider followed up in 1992 by forming the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, which would appear weekly at Visiones from 1993 until the venue closed in 1998.