In February 2020, workers at the Opnieuw & Co thrift store in Mortsel, Belgium, opened a rose-covered photo album and found something extraordinary. Page after page showed an unidentified woman standing side by side with some of the biggest names in 1990s Hollywood — Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Bruce Willis, Antonio Banderas, and dozens more.
The staff had no idea who the woman was. Certain the album had been donated by mistake, they turned to Facebook and asked the public for help identifying her. The post spread fast, catching the attention of thousands of people curious about the mystery woman’s clear connections to Hollywood royalty.
The investigation paid off. The woman was identified as Maria Snoeys-Lagler, a Belgian-born Hollywood reporter who had been a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). The HFPA is a non-profit group of international journalists and photographers who cover the entertainment industry and are best known for organizing the Golden Globe Awards.
Snoeys-Lagler had passed away in 2016 at the age of 87. Her career gave her direct access to the heart of Hollywood during one of its most star-studded decades. The photos in the album were proof of that access — not blurry snapshots from a distance, but close-up, personal photos taken alongside the stars themselves.
The album featured faces that defined an era of cinema. Action heroes, Oscar winners, and cult favorites all appeared alongside Snoeys-Lagler in candid, behind-the-scenes moments that most fans never get to see.
As an HFPA member, Snoeys-Lagler attended press events, junkets, and award season gatherings where these encounters were a regular part of the job. Each photo in the album represents a moment from a working career built over decades in the entertainment press.
Once Snoeys-Lagler’s identity was confirmed, the thrift store made sure the album reached the right hands. It was returned to her daughter, who lives in California. The album had ended up at Opnieuw & Co after being donated — almost certainly without anyone realizing what was inside.
