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Marlene Dietrich
Date of Birth
27 December 1901, Schöneberg bei Berlin, Germany
Date of Death
6 May 1992, Paris, France (kidney failure)
Birth Name
Maria Magdalena Dietrich
Nickname
Lili Marlene
Height
5' 6" (1.68 m)
Mini Biography
Her father was a police lieutenant and imbued in her a military attitude to life. Marlene was known in school for her "bedroom eyes" and her first affairs were at this stage in her life - a professor at the school was terminated. She entered the cabaret scene in 1920s Germany, first as a spectator then as a cabaret singer. In 1924, she married and, although she and Rudolf Sieber lived together only 5 years, they remained married until his death. She was in over a dozen silent films in increasingly important roles. In 1929, she was seen in a Berlin cabaret by Josef von Sternberg and, after a screen test, captured the role of the cabaret singer in Blaue Engel, Der (1930) (and became von Sternberg's lover). With the success of this film, von Sternberg immediately took her to Hollywood, introducing her to the world in Morocco (1930), and signing an agreement to produce all her films. A series of successes followed, and Marlene became the highest paid actress of her time, but her later films in the mid-part of the decade were critical and popular failures. She returned to Europe at the end of the decade, with a series of affairs with former leading men (she had a reputation of romancing her co-stars), as well as other prominent artistic figures. In 1939, an offer came to star with James Stewart in a western and, after initial hesitation, she accepted. The film was Destry Rides Again (1939) - the siren of film could also be a comedienne and a remarkable comeback was reality. She toured extensively for the allied effort in WW II (she had become a United States citizen) and, after the war, limited her cinematic life. But a new career as a singer and performer appeared, with reviews and shows in Las Vegas, touring theatricals, and even Broadway. New success was accompanied by a too close acquaintance with alcohol, until falls in her performance eventually resulted in a compound fracture of the leg. Although the last 13 years of her life were spent in seclusion in her apartment in Paris, with the last 12 years in bed, she had withdrawn only from public life and maintained active telephone and correspondence contact with friends and associates.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Bruce Cameron
Mini Biography
Marie Magdelene Dietrich von Losch (aka Marlene) was born in Berlin, Germany on December 27, 1901. Her father was an army officer who had served in the Franco-Prussian War. Because of his constant absences from the family due to his army duties, Marlene and the rest had to rely on themselves. When he was died, while she was 11, Marlene's mother married Eduard von Losch and he adopted the Dietrich children. Marlene enjoyed music and attended concerts. She was adept at playing the violin and piano. By the time she was in her mid-teens, Marlene had discovered the stage. Acting was to be her vocation. In 1921, Marlene applied for an acting school run by Max Reinhardt. She was accepted. She appeared in several stage production, but never had more than a couple of spoken lines. In short, she wasn't setting the stage world on fire. She attempted films for the first time in 1922 Her first film was So sind die Männer (1923) which was followed by Tragödie der Liebe (1923). On this last project, she met Rudolf Sieber and married him in 1924. The union lasted until his death in 1976 although they didn't live together that whole time. The remainder of her early film career was generally filled with bit roles that never amounted to a whole lot. After being seen in the German production of Blaue Engel, Der (1930) in 1930, Marlene was given a crack at Hollywood. Her first US film was Morocco (1930) with Gary Cooper later that year followed, by Dishonored (1931) in 1931. This latter movie had her cast as a street walker who is appointed a spy. The film was a rather boring affair but was a success because of Marlene's presence. Movie goers were simply attracted to her. In 1932, Marlene filmed Shanghai Express (1932) which proved to be immensely popular raking in $3 million. Once again, she was cast as a prostitute. The next film was Blonde Venus (1932) which turned out to be a horrible production. Her co-star was Cary Grant and once again she was cast as a prostitute. Marlene seemed to be typecast as a woman of low morals and she wanted different parts. Some films such as Desire (1936) in 1936 didn't do that but she wanted to expand. Her chance came in 1939 in Destry Rides Again (1939) when she was cast as "Frenchy", a Western saloon hostess. This began a new direction for Marlene since it shed the typecasting which she was forced to endure during her career. All through the 1940s, she appeared in well-produced, well-directed films such as Manpower (1942), The Spoilers (1942), The Lady Is Willing (1942) and Pittsburgh (1942) all in 1942. Afterwards the roles came fewer, perhaps one to two films every year. In 1945, Marlene didn't appear in any. She only made seven productions in the 1950's. Her last role of any substance was Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) in 1961. Despite the lack of theatrical roles, Marlene still made appearances on the stage. However, by 1979, she was a shell of her former self. After breaking her leg in one performance, she never made a go of it in show business again. Spending the last 12 years of her life bed-ridden, Marlene died on May 6, 1992 in Paris, France of natural causes at the age of 90.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson
Spouse
Rudolf Sieber (17 May 1924 - 24 June 1976) (his death) 1 daughter
Trade Mark
Low and sensual voice
Wearing tuxedoes, men's hats, and men's tailored suits.
Her legs
Trivia
Received the U.S. War Department's 'Medal of Freedom', in 1947, for entertaining American troops in WWII and her strong stand against Naziism.
Was made a Chevaliere of the Legion by France.
Born at 9:15pm-CET
Her estate, consisting of about 300.000 pieces, was bid for 8 mio. German marks by the city of Berlin, Germany.
Interred at Friedhof III, Berlin-Friedenau, Germany.
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#60). [1995]
Mother of Maria Riva.
Marlene's father was Lt. Louis Erich Otto Dietrich, who died when she was very young. Her mother remarried to Colonel Eduard von Losch, who was killed in WWI.
Her father, a Berlin police lieutenant, died after he fell off a horse when she was ten years old.
She sucked lemon wedges between takes to keep her mouth muscles tight.
Never worked without a mirror on the set so she could constantly check her makeup and hair.
Her make-up man said she kissed so hard that she needed a new coat of lipstick after every kiss.
In a posthumous gift of forgiveness, she left her vast collection of memorabilia to the city of Berlin.
She demanded that Max Factor sprinkle half an ounce of real gold dust into her wigs to add glitter to her tresses during filming.
She prided herself on the fact that she had slept with three men of the Kennedy clan - Joseph P. Kennedy, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. and John F. Kennedy.
Marlene suffered from bacilophobia, the fear of germs.
Fell and broke her left leg at her last ever last stage appearance in Sydney, Australia, September 1975.
Became an American citizen on March 6, 1937.
Ten years after her death, Berlin - the city of Dietrich's birth which she shunned for most of her life - declared her an honorary citizen. On April 18, 2002, the city's legislature bestowed honor on her as "an ambassador for a democratic, freedom-loving and humane Germany." The declaration hoped this "would symbolize the city of Berlin's reconciliation with her."
Appears on the sleeve of The Beatles "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
Measurements: 35-24-33 (in 1930), 36 1/2-26-33 (mid-1950s), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
She thought of feet to be the ugliest part of the human body, and therefore always tried to hide them in one way or another
The only show-business friend she ever had was Mae West. However, they never saw one another outside the Paramount lot.
Once said that her favorite meal was hotdogs and champagne.
Proficient on the musical saw.
She was voted the 43rd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Won a Special Tony Award in 1968.
Was named #9 Actress on The AFI 50 Greatest Screen Legends
First German actress to be Oscar-nominated.
Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna's song "Vogue"
She spent her last decade in her apartment on the avenue Montaigne in Paris, during which time she was not seen in public but was a prolific letter-writer and phone-caller. In 1984, Academy Award winning actor Maximilian Schell persuaded her to be interviewed for a documentary, but she did not appear on screen.
According to daughter Maria Riva, Dietrich had a long-standing dislike of actress Loretta Young.
In Italian films, she was dubbed by either Lidia Simoneschi, Tina Lattanzi or Andreina Pagnani.
Interviewed in "Talking to the Piano Player: Silent Film Stars, Writers and Directors Remember" by Stuart Oderman (BearManor Media).
Is portrayed by Ksenia Prohaska in Bugsy (1991).
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