Although being considered to play leading roles in Ben-Hur (1959) and El Cid (1961), she had to reject those offers because she had already signed for other projects in Germany (i. e. Gustav Adolfs Page (1960)). She later said they were the two biggest disappointments in her career.
She and her husband, Helmut Schmid, had two children: a son Marc-Tell Schmid (b.1962) and a daughter Melisande Schmid (b.1967-d.1989, who committed suicide at age 22).
Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1961
After attending acting lessons at the Conservatory in Berne, she made
her stage debut at the local Stadttheater.