1 Romy Schneider and Sissi: European stardom, coming-of-age, and princess fashion Marion Hallet * This article is currently under peer-review for a forthcoming publication in the journal Fashion, Film & Consumption. This essay examines the stardom of Austrian-born actress Romy Schneider (1938-1982) through costumes fashion. Schneider presents a star image deeply rooted in the popularity of her role as Empress Elisabeth of Austria in the Sissi series of romantic costume Austrian films directed by Ernst Marischka (1955, 1956, 1957). Schneider was a major film star in continental Europe from the mid-1950s to the early 1980s, and her persona changed significantly over the course of her career, from sweet ‘Viennese girl’ to ‘Parisienne’ and later to ‘modern woman’. Those changes occurred in conjunction with her acting choices, events in her private life, and directions within European cinema. The first part of her career was marked by her mother, former UFA star Magda Schneider, who influenced her casting as the young and romantic heroine in German and Austrian cinemas. 1 Romy Schneider later reinvented her career and persona when she relocated to France and became one of the most famous ‘French’ stars of the 1970s, a turning point being her performance in La Piscine (The Swimming Pool, Jacques Deray) in 1969. In this essay I map out the various traits that formed Schneider’s star image built from Sissi as a wholesome and hopeful princess, and the reasons for its spectacular success and impact in 1950s Europe’s popular culture. My approach is multifaceted: by analysing the themes (my examination has to be embedded in the series’ social, political, and economic contexts, and with regard to post-war gender discourses, especially the role of women) and the aesthetics (in particular fashion analysis) of Schneider’s presence in the films and in extra- filmic texts, I intend to demonstrate that the actress’s stardom in the mid-1950s was not only part of the dominant identity and gender discourse on nationhood, but that her image in costumes was a powerful key to the films’ successful European export. * * * The foundation of Schneider’s Sissi image and what it represented in mid-1950s Europe were the culmination of previous film characters and media appearances since 1953, especially her first major film role as young Queen Victoria of Great Britain in her third film Mädchenjahre einer Königin (Victoria in Dover, Ernst Marischka, 1954). 2 This biopic with elements of