Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich was a German and American actress and singer whose career spanned from the 1910s to the 1980s. In 1920s Berlin, Dietrich performed on the stage and in silent films. Her performance as Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel (1930) brought her international fame and a contract with Paramount Pictures. Dietrich starred in Hollywood films such as Morocco (1930), Shanghai Express (1932), and Desire (1936). She successfully traded on her glamorous persona and exotic looks, and became one of the highest-paid actresses of the era. During World War II, she was a high-profile entertainer in the United States. She was also noted for her humanitarian efforts, housing German and French exiles, providing financial support and even advocating their US citizenship. For her work on improving morale on the front lines during the war, she received several honors from the United States, France, Belgium, and Israel. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Dietrich the ninth-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema. Dietrich was known for her strong and independent personality, her outspoken views on social issues, and her unconventional lifestyle. She had many affairs with both men and women, including Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Jean Gabin, Edith Piaf, and Mercedes de Acosta. She was married to Rudolf Sieber, a film production assistant whom she met on the set of Tragedy of Love in 1923. They had one daughter, Maria Elisabeth Sieber, who later became an actress and a writer under the name Maria Riva. Dietrich and Sieber separated in 1930 but never divorced. They remained friends until his death in 1976. In the 1950s, Dietrich returned to Germany to perform on stage and record songs in German. She also appeared in a few more films, such as Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). She spent most of her later years in Paris, where she became a recluse after breaking her leg in 1975. She died of renal failure at age 90 on 6 May 1992. She was buried in Berlin next to her mother.