30 vintage photos of the 1980s sex symbol Nastassja Kinski

After making her start films and a German series, it was finally in an Italian production that actress Nastassja Kinski, then 17 years old, burst onto the screen. In Stay as You Are (Così come sei) by Alberto Lattuada released in 1978, she plays a young student who has a relationship with a married man (Marcello Mastroianni) who thinks he is her father. This film caused a scandal with its taboo themes and explicit scenes. Roman Polanski spotted her and made her his Tess d'Urberville in his acclaimed adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel made in tribute to his wife, Sharon Tate. The film won numerous awards, including the César for Best Film and the Golden Globe for Best Director. Natassja was nominated for the Cesar and the Golden Globe for Best Actress. Her career took off. She then went to star in a handful of films like Cat People, in which she transforms into a panther to the rhythm of a soundtrack by David Bowie, and Paris, Texas, a cult classic. Wim Wenders directed this American story of a man walking in the desert, mute and amnesiac, a family reunion tinged with absence and the weight of the past, and a young woman working in a peep-show. A monument of cinema that won the Palme d'Or in 1984.  After starring with Jacques Deray (Malady of Love), the actress pursued a more discreet career in Italy and the United States.

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