Maria Schneider Dies at 58

Well-known French actress Maria Schneider passed away earlier today in her hometown of Paris, France, reports the New York Times.

Schneider, known for her role as Jeanne in Last Tango in Paris, bent the normal standards for the screens in the 1972 film, portraying her as very free-spirited and sexual.

The 1970s were a tough time for Schneider, and were fraught with overdoses and drug addiction, attempted suicide and a stay in a Rome mental hospital. In 1975, she appeared opposite Jack Nicholson in The Passenger, and later played the role of the mentally ill wife, Bertha, in Jane Eyre.

A spokesman for Schneider’s agency said simply that Maria had passed after battling a long illness, providing no details.