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 (actress) Xavier Gélin, also an actor. In 2001, Schneider was the guest of honor at the 23rd Festival Créteil Films de Femmes. In a master class at the festival, she called film "a tracing of memory", and said that women must be recognized as actors and directors. She also brought attention to the importance of assisting senior French actors who become unemployed and impoverished. Schneider was chosen the same year as vice-president of , an organization in Paris organized to support senior French actors and directors. According to Schneider, Marcel Carné, director of "Children of Paradise" (1945) and one of the