Helen Schneider

Helen Leslie Schneider, born December 23, 1952, in Brooklyn, New York, is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned music, theater, film, and literature, with her work centered primarily in Germany. She is the daughter of Dvora and Abraham Schneider. Before launching her professional career, Schneider studied piano and went on to form her own blues band, performing at venues across New England and New York.

Her recording career began in the mid-1970s, and between 1978 and 1984 she established herself as a prominent rock singer in Germany. Her single "Rock 'n' Roll Gypsy" climbed to number six on the German charts and reached number one in Switzerland, earning her a Gold Record Award. During this period she also shared the Goldene Europa Award with John Lennon and was named International Artist of the Year by the German Phono Academy in 1982. In 1980 she toured alongside German rock legend Udo Lindenberg. Her film work from this era includes a lead role in the 1983 American film Eddie and the Cruisers, which developed a substantial cult following, particularly in Germany.

Schneider transitioned into theater in 1987, when she took on the role of Sally Bowles in Cabaret at the Theater des Westens in Berlin. Her Broadway credit came in 1989, when she appeared in The Ghetto, staged at the Circle in the Square Theater in New York City. She subsequently performed the role of Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard from 1995 to 1998, and from 1999 to 2001 she portrayed Eva Perón in Evita at the Bad Hersfelder Festspiele, a performance for which she received the Hersfeld-Preis in 1999. She received that same award again in 2011 for her return to Sunset Boulevard at Bad Hersfeld. In 2014 she starred as Judy Garland in the European production of End of the Rainbow in Klagenfurt, Austria. Her one-woman performance pieces — A Walk on the Weill Side, A Voice and A Piano, and Verwandlungen — also earned her significant recognition.

Schneider returned to recording in 2007, releasing three albums with Edel Music. Her 2009 recording Dream a Little Dream earned her a golden CD award in jazz. In 2015 she signed with the independent label SPV and released Collective Memory, her first album of original material in thirty years, with music composed by guitarist Jo Ambros and lyrics written by her collaborator Linda Uruburu. The same team produced her follow-up album Movin' On in 2017. In 2006 she received the DIVA — German Entertainment Prize in the category of World Award, recognizing her lifetime achievements.

Beyond performance and recording, Schneider co-authored two children's books with Linda Uruburu, both published by Baumhaus Medien in 2007: Helen Schneiders Tiergeschichten für große und kleine Kinder, a collection of stories about children and animals, and Maximilian Schnecks wunderbarer Regentag, a picture book following a snail's journey across a road. In 2018 she joined the teaching staff of Stage School Hamburg, where she instructs students in song interpretation.