Website: The Official Marlene Dietrich Site
Website: Meik's Tribute to Marlene Dietrich
Maria Riva, daughter of icon Marlene Dietrich, in 1992 wrote of her mother's life and legendary life and created a book so compelling and fascinating that the New York Times raved that it was "greatly entertaining" - which it is. Indeed, "Marlene Dietrich" is one of this editor's favorite biographies of all time.
Maria Magdalene Dietrich (she later dubbed herself "Marlene") was born December 27, 1901 to Lieutenant Louis Dietrich and Wilhelmina Felsing. Maria was their second child, and quickly stood out as the determined and opinionated woman she would grow up to be.
Maria went to a girls' school in Berlin from 1906 to 1918. During this time she kept a diary, in which she called herself "Marlene" for the first time, also choosing to use her father's last name instead of her stepfather's. Thus was born Marlene Dietrich.
In 1921 the acting bug bit Marlene hard, and she auditioned for the Max Reinhardt Drama School. Between 1922 and 1930, Maria was is many German stage and film productions, and she eventually met and married Rudolf Sieber in early 1924. On December 12, 1924, she gave birth to a daughter, Maria. Even in these conservative times, Dietrich and Seiber's marriage was more for convenience, and they remained married even while engaging in other romantic relationships.
Five years later, in 1929, she was "discovered" by director Josef von Sternberg, who asked her to star in "The Blue Angel". The film was primarily made in Germany, but Dietrich moved her family to the U.S. to fulfill a 6-movie contract she had signed with Paramount. Her relationship with von Sternberg continued through most of those movies, and she credits him with creating her career from nothing.
While "The Blue Angel" and "Morocco" made her a household name, most of Dietrich's movies between 1936 and 1950 were nothing special. Perhaps the only one worth mentioning is her star turn in Jimmy Stewart's "Destry Rides Again" in 1939 where she plays a tough-talking humorous version of herself.
During WWII, Marlene struggled with her German roots, even while being completely loyal to her new home country of America. In order to show herself as American as the rest of her co-stars, she began an illustrious career with the traveling USO. She went on numerous war tours to entertain troops throughout the world, and held those memories as some of her favorite. She steadfastly denounced Hitler and his Nazi regime, and eventually the U.S., French and Israeli governments awarded her medals for her conduct.
 |
Go To Page: 1 2
