Charlie Schneider

Charlotte Schneider
Gabriele Metzger as Charlie Schneider (2008)
Verbotene Liebe character
Portrayed by	Gabriele Metzger
First appearance	Episode 1 2 January 1995
Created by	Reg Watson (originally as Charlie Barlett for Sons & Daughters)
Profile
Occupation	Current Owner of the bistro Schneiders Silent partner in the construction company Brandner Bau Former Manager and waitress at the No Limits Art dealer
Residence	Apartment Charlie Schneider Düsseldorf, Germany
Siblings Thomas Schneider Henriette Sabel Lars Schneider Children Bella Jacob Nieces and nephews Oliver Sabel Unknown man Olivia Schneider (deceased) Sophia von Lahnstein

Charlotte 'Charlie' Schneider is a fictional character from the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe, portrayed by actress Gabriele Metzger. She made her first appearance on screen in the series premiere on 2 January 1995. After the departure of Konrad Krauss, who played Arno Brandner, Metzger is the only remaining original cast member.

Charlie is introduced as a secondary character and best friend of Clarissa von Anstetten, played by Isa Jank. She is rarely seen in the beginning and then only as sidekick of Clarissa. She is the one to whom Clarissa can talk and the only one with whom Clarissa is really honest about everything. Charlie doesn't judge her no matter what and even supports Clarissa with her lies and schemes. It's also revealed that Charlie has a thing for younger men when she leaves a party of the Anstetten family in the company of a man, saying to Clarissa that she has plans with him for the night. The character of Charlie Schneider is also an adaption of the character on Sons & Daughters named Charlie Barlett, played by Sarah Kemp. The original and the adaption share a similar minor role during the show's early months, before they both emerge as key characters.

Charlie is a dizzy socialite in the beginning that loves it to gossip about everything and everyone. She has a taste for younger men, even though she wants something more in life. With time, we find Charlie often as the tragicomic character of the show. While she entertains us with her love to gossip and some embarrassing situations, Charlie is also a character that has tragic moments when it comes to her relationship. Her belief in love and the desire for something more puts her in relationships with lousy men, who hurt her sooner or later. Even though she supports Clarissa's schemes in the beginning, Charlie later becomes a very warm and hearty person. She is also a very forgiving woman, which can also be her biggest weakness.

Upon her arrival, Charlie was quickly established as gossip factory, a characteristic she keeps through to the years. But Charlie is also a character that goes through changes in her personality. Always shown on-screen and mentioned, she deals with her past and the person she has become now. While she is Clarissa's "partner in crime" in the beginning of the show, she develops as a participant, before Charlie becomes a good soul that helps others. But that her past can never be rewritten is shown when her niece Olivia, played by Kristina Dörfer, arrives in 2006 and blackmails her aunt with one of her old mistakes. In scenes with Olivia we see more of Charlie's old self. When the secret [that she paid the ex-girlfriend of her younger brother to get an abortion] comes out, she later forgives Olivia for her blackmail and leaves her old self once again in the past.