Born 1939 in Mannheim, German actress and model Christiane Schmidtmer worked onstage in Germany from 1961–63, then turned to photographic modeling for German fashion magazines and later, Playboy in the USA. She modeled for advertising companies, namely Max Factor Cosmetics, before she started her movie career. She was hired as their featured model and introduced at the New York World’s Fair in 1964 followed by an American tour with visits to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Chicago.
Schmidtmer appeared in German TV and movie productions, such as Rolf Hädrich’s Stop Train 349. During the filming in Berlin and England, she befriended co-star José Ferrer. The friendship lasted until Ferrer’s death in 1992. He later recommended her to Stanley Kramer for his production of Ship of Fools, her first US film in which she played Ferrer’s beautiful mistress. She played the evil prison wardress in The Big Doll House (1971) and Lufthansa stewardess Lise Bruner in Boeing Boeing.
Schmidtmer was one of just a few German actresses successful in 1960s Hollywood, and was praised by critics as the most exciting German import since Marlene Dietrich. Schmidtmer, with her attractive and typically German appearance, was often reduced to playing the “attractive German”.
Schmidtmer continued to do commercials and voiceover work in a number of productions. She died in her sleep in 2003 at her home in Heidelberg, Germany, from natural causes following an accident. Take a look at these gorgeous photos to see the beauty of young Christiane Schmidtmer in the 1960s.
Smokin' hot!
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