Rosemarie Magdalena Albach was born September 23, 1938, in Vienna as the first child of actors Magda Schneider and Wolf Albach-Retty. Schneider made her movie debut already at the age of 14 in "Wenn der weiße Flieder wieder blüht" ("When the White Lilacs Bloom Again") as Magda Schneider's film daughter Evchen. Schneider then got offers for several other films as "naïve and sweet" daughter and young lover and became known to a wider public in the successful film "Mädchenjahre einer Königin" ("Victoria in Dover"). In this film, Schneider played young Victoria, Queen of England, again alongside her mother.

In 1955, Scheider's success went sky high after her performance in "Sissi". The film tells the story of Elisabeth of Bavaria, who becomes the empress of Austria, but is only loosely based on actual facts. Director and producer Ernst Marischka followed this successful model with the film's sequel "Sissi, die junge Kaiserin". Although critics dismissed the film and Schneider's performance, the film became another great success.

After a romantic affair with Horst Buchholz that ended after they filmed "Monpti" (1957) together and that was widely featured in the yellow press, Schneider filmed "Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin" (1957), the third film of the "Sissi" series. After that, Schneider refused to play in any more "Sissi" films and starred in a remake of "Mädchen in Uniform" ("Girls in Uniform") instead.

For her partner Alain Delon's sake, Schneider moved to Paris in 1958 although she was under attack by the German press for her move. But even in Paris, she at first could not escape her role image as a young aristocrat. But Schneider struggled against this image, annoying producers and movie goers alike. But when Fritz Kortner offered her a role in his adaptation of "Die Sendung der Lysistrata", a play by Aristophanes, she was able to overcome this strict typecast. Schneider then made her first performance in the theatre, in Luchino Visconti's production of "Tis Pity She's a Whore" which was highly praised by critics and audiences alike. Schneider continued to work with Visconti and starred in his 1961 episodic film "Boccaccio 70". The "new Romy" was tremendously well received outside of the German-speaking countries. Schneider finally became a serious actor and starred, for instance, in Orson Welles' Kafka adaptation "Le procès". After this international success, Schneider went to Hollywood and starred alongside Jack Lemmon in "Good Neighbour Sam" proving her comedic talent. But when the film flopped, several other projects fell through and she broke up with Alain Delon. Schneider then suffered a severe crisis.

In 1965, Schneider met boulevard director Harry Meyen and married him in 1966. In the same year, she also gave birth to her son David Christopher. After a short break, she successfully returned to the movie screen in 1968 in "La piscine". In 1969, she starred in Claude Sautet's "Les choses de la vie" that marked the beginning of a collaboration – often including co-star Michel Piccoli – that lead to several highlights of her career: "Max et les ferrailleurs" (1970), "César et Rosalie" (1972), and "Une histoire simple" (1978). Directed by Visconti, Schneider also tried to finally get rid of her romantic "Sissi" image and played Elisabeth as a cold and remote "black lily" in "Ludwig" (1972).

Schneider then became the epitome of the modern lover, for instance as Michel Piccoli's money-hungry accomplice in "Trio infernal" or as an unsuccessful actress in "L'Important c'est d'aimer", a performance that won her a César in 1976. In 1975, Schneider divorced Meyen and instead married her secretary Daniel Biasini. Her daughter Sarah Magdalena was born in 1977.

In 1976, Schneider played the part of Leni who feels alienated in her home country in the adaptation of Heinrich Böll's novel "Gruppenbild mit Dame" ("Group Portrait with a Lady"). Schneider won the Filmband in Gold for her performance. In the following years, Schneider starred in two successful films by Claude Sautet: "Une histoire simple" und "La banquiere". But in 1981, Schneider suffered several personal crises. She got divorced from Biasini and had to undergo surgery. Furthermore, her son David Christopher died in an accident. Schneider then plunged into work and starred in Jacques Rouffio's "La passante du Sans-Souci" but could not finish other film projects.

On May 29, 1982, Romy Schneider died in Paris, probably of heart failure. In honor of her, the Montreux film festival awards the Romy Schneider award since 1982.