Janet Ann Schneider (born October 24, 1951, in

McFarland, Wisconsin The Village of McFarland is located on Lake Waubesa adjacent to the southeast side of the Madison, Wisconsin, City of Madison in Dane County, Wisconsin, Dane County. The population was 8,991 at the 2020 United States Census. McFarland has appr ...

) is an American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and photojournalist.

Early life

Schneider studied at the University of Wisconsin. Passionate about drama, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1974, hoping to break into theater.

Career

Acting

In New York City, Schneider found herself performing in productions such as '' Shenandoah'', '' The Robber Bridegroom'', and '' Othello''. Later, on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, she was nominated for a 1986

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

as ''Best Featured Actress in a Musical'' for the role ''Helena Landless'' in ''

The Mystery of Edwin Drood ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opium ...

'' and won a 1986 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her role in ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood''. In 1986, Schneider married musician and composer Tom Wilson. They separated not long after marrying.

Photojournalism

In the late 1980s, Schneider decided to pursue photojournalism. She worked for several photo agencies, including Sipa Press. Her work was published in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'', '' Stern'' and other newspapers and magazines. In 1992, she covered the

Siege of Sarajevo The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav People's Army, the city was then be ...

. Retired Maj. Gen.

Lewis MacKenzie Lewis Wharton MacKenzie CM, MSC, OOnt, CD (born 30 April 1940) is a Canadian retired major general, author and media commentator. MacKenzie is known for establishing and commanding Sector Sarajevo as part of the United Nations Protection F ...

, the Canadian commander of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

forces in the former Yugoslav city said of Schneider, "She was like a breath of fresh air, vivacious in the midst of all those stinky male journalists. I was impressed by her dedication. I told her she would end up either famous or dead." Schneider was badly wounded when a tank shell fired from Serb positions exploded next to her. Her friend, Ivo Štandeker, a journalist from

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, was killed. Schneider spent many weeks in the hospital, first with the UN and later in Belgrade, where doctors saved her leg from amputation. Schneider returned to Wisconsin from Bosnia, deeply depressed. She began to focus more on the victims of war. Among them was her friend Darja Lebar, a Slovenian journalist in Sarajevo who had suffered a gunshot to the face, a few months following the death of Standeker. Schneider helped Lebar raise money for her operations, facial reconstruction, and gave her shelter at her parents' home in Wisconsin. After Lebar returned to Sarajevo, Schneider has not returned back to journalism.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Jana People from McFarland, Wisconsin 1951 births Living people War photographers American photojournalists Drama Desk Award winners American actresses University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni American women photographers 21st-century American women Women photojournalists