Her breakthrough was in the 1920 film Gilly in Prague for the First Time, and she acted in Czech and Austrian comedies in the 1920s.
With the films Eve's Daughters (1928) and Sinful and Sweet (1929) she conquered the German market.

She also appeared in some British dramas, most notably Alfred Hitchcock's The Manxman and Blackmail (both 1929); in the latter, her character is the first “Hitchcock blonde".
Blackmail was started as a silent film; in the course of production, however, it was decided to make it the first English sound film.
A minute-long test film where Ondra speaks English has survived, in which Hitchcock chauvinistically asks the actress if she is a "bad woman" and if she slept with men, making her leave before the reel ends.
Ondra's accent was considered unacceptable, but Hitchcock didn't want to do without her as an actress, so he had her part dubbed by British actress Joan Barry.
Barry thus became the first voice actress and Anny Ondra the first foreign-language dubbed actress in film history, the dubbing taking place in an unusual way: Ondra moved her lips, Barry spoke the text outside the picture.

After returning to Germany, Ondra formed a production company, Ondra-Lamač-Films, with Karel Lamač, which lasted until 1936.
Lamač directed her in several silent films, acted with her in films directed by other filmmakers, and continued to work together after her marriage to Max Schmeling.
She played her first self-spoken sound film role alongside Sig Arno in Fairground People (1930).

Ondra made some forty more films in the sound era, the last in 1957, and in total over 90 films.

Ondra was portrayed by Britt Ekland in the television movie Ring of Passion (1978), wherein the character was named "Amy Ondra Schmeling".
She was also portrayed by Peta Wilson in the historical boxing docudrama Joe and Max (2002).
Her breakthrough was in the 1920 film Gilly in Prague for the First Time, and she acted in Czech and Austrian comedies in the 1920s. With the films Eve's Daughters (1928) and Sinful and Sweet (1929) she conquered the German market.
She also appeared in some British dramas, most notably Alfred Hitchcock's The Manxman and Blackmail (both 1929); in the latter, her character is the first “Hitchcock blonde". Blackmail was started as a silent film; in the course of production, however, it was decided to make it the first English sound film. A minute-long test film where Ondra speaks English has survived, in which Hitchcock chauvinistically asks the actress if she is a "bad woman" and if she slept with men, making her leave before the reel ends. Ondra's accent was considered unacceptable, but Hitchcock didn't want to do without her as an actress, so he had her part dubbed by British actress Joan Barry. Barry thus became the first voice actress and Anny Ondra the first foreign-language dubbed actress in film history, the dubbing taking place in an unusual way: Ondra moved her lips, Barry spoke the text outside the picture.
After returning to Germany, Ondra formed a production company, Ondra-Lamač-Films, with Karel Lamač, which lasted until 1936. Lamač directed her in several silent films, acted with her in films directed by other filmmakers, and continued to work together after her marriage to Max Schmeling. She played her first self-spoken sound film role alongside Sig Arno in Fairground People (1930). 
Ondra made some forty more films in the sound era, the last in 1957, and in total over 90 films.
Ondra was portrayed by Britt Ekland in the television movie Ring of Passion (1978), wherein the character was named "Amy Ondra Schmeling". She was also portrayed by Peta Wilson in the historical boxing docudrama Joe and Max (2002).
Anny Ondra