Anny Ondra

From 1919 she worked primarily with director Karel Lamac. With the movie "Gilly po prve v Praze - Gilly zum ersten Mal in Prag" (1920) she became established as a European star.

Anny Ondra was a Polish-Czech-Austrian-German-French singer and a film and stage actress. As a child she lived in Prague, where her father was a colonel in the Austro-Hungarian army. After graduating from convent school in Prague, she studied to be an actress with Professor Bor. She was already a star in the Czech theater when, at age 16, the teenage beauty was discovered by the film industry. From 1920--mostly under the direction of Karel Lamac--she became a major comedic star in Czech cinema, and in 1928 she conquered German cinema.

Historically, she was Alfred Hitchcock's first blonde, appearing in his film Blackmail (1929), which was England's--and Hitchcock's--first talking film (Hitchcock, knowing that not all theaters supported talkies, also shot a silent version of the film).

In 1930 in Germany she created, with the help of Karel Lamac, the Ondra-Lamac Film Society, which lasted till 1936.

She was in Die vom Rummelplatz (1930) ("Those of the Sideshow") but the film, was lost and remains so to this day. She played in German-, Czech- and French-language versions of all her movies, always as the leading lady. She became an international cinema superstar and one of the most beloved of German film stars. She appeared in more than 88 films.

In 1933 she married the famous boxer Max Schmeling, with whom she also appeared in the movie "Knock-out" (1935). The marriage lasted till her death.

Ondra miscarried after a car accident in 1936 and could no longer have children.

After the war, she and her husband were left without funds or assets. In 1949 they moved to Hollenstedt near Hamburg, where her husband started their business on land they owned. Later, Max Schmeling begun working for the Coca-Cola Company.

Lamac remained her friend for a lifetime. He died in her arms in 1952 in Hamburg.

She was given the Honorary German Film Award in 1970.

Ondra was portrayed by Britt Ekland in the television movie Ring of Passion (1978), wherein the character was named "Amy Ondra Schmeling". She was also portrayed by Peta Wilson in the historical boxing docudrama Joe and Max (2002).

Ondra was buried in the Saint Andreas Friedhof cemetery in Hollenstedt, Germany. Her husband, Max Schmeling, died in 2005 and was buried next to her. The heritage of Anny and Max has been referred to as the Max-Schmeling-Stiftung Foundation.