Anny Ondra

Anny Ondra
Anny Ondra in 1926
Born	Anna Sophie Ondráková (1903-05-15)15 May 1903 Tarnów, Galicia, Austria–Hungary (now Poland)
Died	28 February 1987(1987-02-28) (aged 83) Hollenstedt, Germany
Nationality	Czech
Years active	1919–1951
Spouse(s)	Max Schmeling (1933–1987)

Anny Ondra (15 May 1903 – 28 February 1987) was a Czech film actress. She was married to German boxing great Max Schmeling. She was born Anna Sophie Ondráková in Tarnów, Galicia, Austria–Hungary, now Poland, and died in Hollenstedt near Harburg, Germany.

The daughter of a Czech, Austro-Hungarian officer, Ondra spent her childhood in Tarnów, Pula and Prague. Her father's name was Bohumír and mother's name Anna. She had two brothers, Tomáš (Tomas) and Jindřich (Henry).

At seventeen she played in the theater and acted in her first film. The film was directed by her boyfriend, director Karel Lamač (Karell Lamatch). When her family learned of it, they had a shouting match in which the teenager got a beating from her father - to be an actress, soon after the First World War, was socially almost at the level of a being a beggar. Anna had been educated at a convent school and her father had found for her an official government position. Anna preferred a film career and began to live with Karel Lamač. "I swim like a fish, ride like a cowboy, and I would do it all if the film required it," summarized the nineteen-year-old. After some years she wanted to start a family, but Lamač did not want to marry. So, after a three-year romance, on 6 July 1933 Ondra married German boxer Max Schmeling, with whom she appeared in the film Knock-out (1935). Their marriage was a happy one, although childless: Ondra miscarried after a car accident in 1936 and could no longer have children. They were married until her death in 1987. Lamač remained her friend throughout his lifetime. He died in her arms in 1952 in Hamburg.

Throughout their marriage, German fascists tried to exploit the fame and popularity of Ondra and Schmeling. They were often seen in photos with Goebbels and Hitler - Max as a German superman and Anny as a blonde Aryan (Max was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932). However, they never collaborated: Max refused to accept honours and even secretly helped to hide two Jewish children, saving their lives. In Nazi Germany this was a capital offence. After the war, they were penalised financially for collaboration, and an arrest warrant was issued in the Czech Republic. Nazi propaganda won and Schneling never visited Ondra's homeland.