Catherine Schell

Catherine Schell (born Katherina '' Freiin'' Schell von Bauschlott, 17 July 1944) is a Hungarian-born British actress who came to prominence in British film and television productions from the 1960s. Her notable roles include the Bond girl Nancy in '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969), Lady Claudine Litton in '' The Return of the Pink Panther'' (1975), Countess Scarlioni in the ''Doctor Who'' serial '' City of Death'' (1979), and a regular role as Maya in Year Two of the television series '' Space: 1999'' (1976-1977).

Early life

Schell's father, Baron Pál Schell von Bauschlott ( Nagyida, 5 September 1898 - Munich, 20 October 1979), was a Hungarian diplomat of three-quarter Hungarian ancestry; her mother (m. Budapest, 28 January 1940) was Countess Katalin Mária Etelka Georgina Erzsébet Teleki de Szék (Budapest, 11 November 1917 - ?).https://genealogy.euweb.cz/hung/teleki2.html "Schell" is the family name, while "von Bauschlott" indicates the place in Germany where the Schell family owned its main estate.

Fleeing Hungary in advance of the Soviets and communism, the family lived in poverty until 1948, finding asylum in Austria: first in Vienna, then in Salzburg. In 1950, the family emigrated to the United States, where Schell's father acquired American citizenship.

Schell entered a convent school in the New York City borough of Staten Island. In 1957, her father joined Radio Free Europe and the family moved to Munich where Schell developed an interest in acting and attended the Otto Falckenberg School of the Performing Arts.

Career

Film

She acted under the alternate name "Catherina von Schell" early in her career. Under this name she made her film debut as the title character in the German-language film '' Lana, Queen of the Amazons'' (1964). She appeared as Bond girl Nancy in the ''James Bond'' film '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969), with George Lazenby in the lead. Around the same time, she appeared in Hammer Films science-fiction thriller '' Moon Zero Two'' (also 1969) cast in the role of Clementine Taplin. She appeared with Bette Davis, now credited as Catherine Schell, in '' Madame Sin'' (1972), a television film made by ITC which was released theatrically in some markets.

Schell appeared opposite Peter Sellers in the comedy '' The Return of the Pink Panther'' (1975) as Lady Claudine Lytton. Schell appeared with Sellers again in '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1979), one of his last films.

Television

Schell's first TV credit was ''Till Eulenspiegel'' (1967), a West German comedy in which she played Nele and was billed as Katherina von Schell.

Schell spent much of her career in British television, appearing in more than 47 series spanning a period of nearly 30 years. She played regular roles in series such as '' The Adventurer'', '' Looking For Clancy'', '' One by One'', '' Mog'' and '' Wish Me Luck'', in addition to many guest appearances, including ''The Persuaders!'' (starring alongside future James Bond actor Roger Moore), '' The Troubleshooters'', '' Arthur of the Britons'', '' Return of the Saint'', '' The Sweeney'', '' The Onedin Line'', '' The Gentle Touch'', ''Lovejoy'', '' Bergerac'', ''The Bill'', '' Howards' Way'' and '' The Search for the Nile''.

Schell appeared in the science-fiction series '' Space: 1999'' as a robotic servant (" Guardian of Piri", 1975), and returned to the series in its second season as the regular character Maya, a shape-shifting " metamorph" from the planet Psychon. Schell appeared in another British science-fiction series, as Countess Scarlioni in the ''Doctor Who'' serial '' City of Death'' (1979).

Personal life

Marriages

While filming '' Amsterdam Affair'' in 1968, Schell met and married her first husband, British actor William Marlowe (1930–2003), and moved to London. The marriage ended in divorce in 1977. Schell married director Bill Hays (1938–2006) in 1982. In 1984, they worked together for the first time as husband and wife on a TV production of Ivan Turgenev's play '' A Month in the Country''.

Retirement

Schell's career continued into the mid-1990s, after which she retired from acting and opened Chambre d'Hôtes Valentin, a small guesthouse in Bonneval, Haute-Loire, France, which would become a popular destination for fans of '' Space: 1999''. She reportedly sold the inn after the death of her second husband in 2006.

Schell made her first convention appearance at MainMission:2000, a celebration of the 25th anniversary of ''Space: 1999'' held in New York City. To date, she has appeared at only one other convention, mainly due to her second husband's declining health.

Schell contributed a foreword to the ''Space: 1999'' novel ''Born for Adversity'', written by David McIntee and published by Powys Media in 2010.

Schell's autobiography ''A Constant Alien'' was published in 2016.

She subsequently came out of acting retirement to portray the Grand Duchess Valeria in the BBC One/Netflix series ''Dracula'', which aired in 2020.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schell, Catherine
1944 births
Living people
20th-century British actresses
20th-century Hungarian actresses
21st-century British actresses
Actresses from Budapest
British film actresses
British hoteliers
British television actresses
Hungarian emigrants to Austria
Hungarian emigrants to the United Kingdom
Hungarian emigrants to the United States
Hungarian film actresses
Hungarian nobility
Hungarian people of French descent
Hungarian people of German descent
Hungarian refugees
Hungarian television actresses
British emigrants to France
Hungarian emigrants to France
Hungarian emigrants to Germany
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
British people of German descent
British people of French descent