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Maria Schneider (born Marie Christine Gélin; 27 March 1952 – 3 February 2011) was a French actress. She was best known for playing Jeanne, opposite Marlon Brando, in the 1972 film Last Tango in Paris. Schneider performed several nude scenes in Last Tango in Paris, which was controversial at the time. In an interview in 2007, she described Last Tango in Paris director Bernardo Bertolucci: "He was fat and sweaty and very manipulative, both of Marlon and myself, and would do certain things to get a reaction from me." As for her working relationship with Brando, she said that, while their... MORE

Maria Schneider (born Marie Christine Gélin; 27 March 1952 – 3 February 2011) was a French actress. She was best known for playing Jeanne, opposite Marlon Brando, in the 1972 film Last Tango in Paris. Schneider performed several nude scenes in Last Tango in Paris, which was controversial at the time. In an interview in 2007, she described Last Tango in Paris director Bernardo Bertolucci: "He was fat and sweaty and very manipulative, both of Marlon and myself, and would do certain things to get a reaction from me." As for her working relationship with Brando, she said that, while their relationship on the set was paternal, it was Brando who came up with the sodomy scene where butter was used as lubricant, and it was not revealed to her until just before it was filmed: Schneider and Brando remained friends until his death, although they did not speak of the movie "for a while." She also said that her experience with the film – and her treatment as a sex symbol rather than as a serious actress – motivated her never to work nude again. She also appeared in films such as Antonioni's The Passenger and Zeffirelli's Jane Eyre. She worked in over 50 films and television productions between LESS