Marlene dietriech biography

Marie Magdalene Dietrich was born on the 27^th of December 1901 in Schöneberg, Berlin and was the second daughter of parents Louie Erich Otto Dietrich and Wilhelmina Elisabeth Josephine Felsing.

Marlene initially trained as a violinist and turned to acting after a hand injury prevented her from furthering a career in music.

Starring opposite Jimmy Stewart, she played a saloon gal in western comedy Destry Rides Again (1939).

She explored notions of feminism with her femme fatale roles in films, such as in the film Morocco. Even into the 1960s, she appears in the films of famous directors such as Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock and Fritz Lang and enjoys international success on stage as a singer. During a European tour, she returns to Germany and West Berlin in 1960.

During World War II, Dietrich traveled extensively to entertain the allied troops, singing such songs as "Lili Marlene" and others that would later become staples in her cabaret act. With her sultry good looks and sophisticated manner, Dietrich was a natural for the role of Lola Lola, a nightclub dancer. In 1960, Dietrich performed in Germany, her first visit there since before the war.

They later separated, but never divorced.

Hollywood Success

Dietrich’s career in Germany began to take off in the late 1920s. Her contribution to the war effort cannot be underestimated; she also worked with the Red Cross.

Dietrich was awarded the 'Medal of Freedom' by the US Government for her work during the war and the French Government awarded her 'Knight of the Legion of Honour' and 'Officer of the Legion of Honour'.

In 1943 when Marlene's daughter Maria gave birth to her first son, Marlene was dubbed ''the world's most glamorous grandmother’’.

Her post-war films include Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Stage Fright’, Fritz Lang’s ‘Rancho Notorious’, Billy Wilder’s ‘Witness for the Prosecution’, Stanley Kramer’s ‘Judgement at Nuremburg’ and Orson Welles' ‘Touch of Evil’.

In December 1953 Dietrich then swung her career around and took her ‘one woman show’ out on the road and toured for over twenty years, starting at the Congo Room in the Sahara Hotel, Las Vegas and then taking her show around the world.

That same year, her autobiography, Dietrich's ABC, was published.

Later Years

By the mid-1970s, Dietrich had given up performing. Two films directed by Billy Wilder, A Foreign Affair (1948) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957) with Tyrone Power, were among the most notable from this period. One of the most glamorous leading ladies of the 1930s and 1940s, Marlene Dietrich is remembered for her smoldering sex appeal, distinctive voice, and unusual personal style.

She performed her act around the world, from Las Vegas to Paris, to the delight of her fans. In 1920 she began a career as an actress and by 1921 was attending the Max Reinhardt drama school and landed some small roles in the theatres in Berlin and parts in some silent films, but was relatively unknown at this point.

In May 1923, Marlene met (and later married) Rudolph Sieber, a German casting director, they had a daughter Maria Elisabeth.

In 1929 while appearing in cabaret in Berlin Marlene was spotted by director Josef Von Sternberg and he screen tested her for the role in The Blue Angel (Der Blaue Engel), with Emil Jannings in the lead role.

Following the success of The Blue Angel there followed an amazing collaboration between Dietrich and Von Sternberg and they made a further six memorable films together for Paramount in Hollywood; ‘Morocco’, ‘Dishonoured’, ‘Blonde Venus’, ‘Shanghai Express’, ‘The Scarlet Empress’ and ‘The Devil is a Woman’.

She made her new country her official home by becoming a U.S. citizen in 1939. She died on May 6, 1992, in Paris, France.

Early Life

Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich was born Maria Magdalene Dietrich on December 27, 1901, in Berlin, Germany.