- Born
- Died
- Birth nameHerta-Maria Perschy
- Height5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
- Gorgeous and appealing brunette knockout Herta-Maria Perschy was born on September 23, 1938, in Eisenstadt, Burgenland, Austria. Maria moved to Vienna at age 17 to study acting at the prestigious Max Reinhardt Seminar. After finishing her education in Vienna, Perschy moved to Germany for further training and began her career acting in German comedies in the mid-'50s (her teacher, 'Suzi Nicoletta', helped Perschy get a contract at Bavaria Film Studios). She went on to act in an eclectic array of movies in such genres as drama, horror, Western and action/adventure, made in Europe and the US. Maria was usually cast in sexpot roles in her English-language films. She was nominated for the Golden Laurel Award for Top Female New Face in 1964. In 1971 she suffered a burn injury while filming a movie in Spain; she underwent several operations and then resumed her career. In 1977 she moved to Los Angeles and was married to a writer, who committed suicide in 1983. In 1985 she moved back to her native Austria and continued to act in both plays and TV series.
Maria Perschy died from cancer at age 66 on December 3, 2004; she was married twice and was survived by a daughter.- IMDb Mini Biography By: woodyanders (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)
- SpousesJohn Melson(1977 - January 29, 1983) (his death)Stan Torchia(196? - 1973) (divorced, 1 child)
- When filming in Spain in July 1971 Perschy's face was burned severely by an accidental fire resulting in her being bedridden for an extended period. After a series of operations, she was able to continue her career.
- Austrian leading lady who appeared in sexy European films during the late 1950s before making an ill-fated go of it in Hollywood the following decade, co-starring with Montgomery Clift in the intense biopic Freud (1962), Rock Hudson in the mild comedy Man's Favorite Sport? (1964) and Cliff Robertson in the thoroughly routine WWII film 633 Squadron (1964).
- Returning to Europe in the mid-1960s, she was featured in a number of Austrian and German TV series in the 1990s.
- Mother of actress and singer Daniela Torchia.
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