Fled East Germany in 1960 and settled in Stuttgart, became a $53-a-week electronics engineer, entered a beauty contest and was quickly elected Miss Germany.
Miss Universe of 1961.
Born in the eastern part of Germany, she grew up in the German Democratic Republic after war, but went to West-Germany.
Raised in East Germany, she earned a master's degree in engineering. In 1960, she and her family fled to Stuttgart in West Germany, where she got a job as an electronics engineer.
In 1962, Schmidt became the third of eight wives of the American actor Ty Hardin.
In 1967, she was a technical consultant for Sier-Bath Gear Co, New Jersey.