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A photo of Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich 1901 - 1992

Marlene Marie Magdalene (Dietrich) Dietrich was born on December 27, 1901 in Berlin, Berlin Germany, and had a sister Elisabeth Dietrich. She was married to Rudolf Sieber, and had a child Maria Riva. Marlene Dietrich died at age 90 years old on May 6, 1992 in Paris, Paris County, Île-de-France France, and was buried on May 6, 1992 at Friedhof Stubenrauchstraße in Berlin, Berlin Germany.
Marlene Marie Magdalene (Dietrich) Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
December 27, 1901
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
May 6, 1992
Paris, Paris County, Île-de-France, France
Female
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Marlene Marie Magdalene (Dietrich) Dietrich's History: 1901 - 1992

Uncover new discoveries and connections today by sharing about people & moments from yesterday.
  • Introduction

    Born December 27, 1901 in Schöneberg, Berlin, Germany Died May 6, 1992 in Paris, France (kidney failure) Birth Name Marie Magdalene Dietrich Nickname Lili Marlene Height 5' 4½" (1.64 m) Mini Bio (2) 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 The Blue Angel (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 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 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 The Little Napoleon (1923) which was followed by Love Tragedy (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 The Blue Angel (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 (1) Rudolf Sieber (17 May 1924 - 24 June 1976) ( his death) ( 1 child) Trade Mark (5) Low and sensual voice Wearing tuxedoes, men's hats, and men's tailored suits Her legs Aura of glamour and luxury Her signature scent was Bandit by Robert Piguet Trivia (42) 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 million 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] Gave birth to her only child at age 22, a daughter Maria Elisabeth Sieber (aka Maria Riva) on December 13, 1924. Child's father was her husband, Rudolf Sieber. 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. 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
  • 12/27
    1901

    Birthday

    December 27, 1901
    Birthdate
    Berlin, Berlin Germany
    Birthplace
  • Military Service

    She entertained the Allied Troops in dangerous places. 3. Marlene the USO Entertainer Dietrich was determined to support American troops and was one of many women in World War II to do so on a USO tour. However, Marlene went above and beyond her peers, showing a true commitment to “her boys” by traveling right to the front lines to perform. Her fellow performers joked that “she was always trying to get us killed.” Dietrich went on two USO tours during World War II, traveling first to North Africa and Italy, where she was the first entertainer to reach rescued Allied soldiers in Anzio, and then later to France and Germany, with this second tour lasting 11 months, beginning just on the heels of D-Day. Her performances in the now-famous USO Camp Shows involved singing, dancing and a comedy routine with a musical saw, and she usually left Allied troops in fits of laughter. She fought off bouts of influenza, slept in tents and suffered from frostbite, but in the end, Dietrich put on more than 500 performances for Allied troops throughout the war, many of which were on the front lines. When asked why she risked her life to support American soldiers, she responded, “aus Anstand – Out of decency.”
  • Personal Life & Family

    1. Marlene the Patriot Dietrich had an impressive, lifelong career as an Academy Award-nominated actress, singer and entertainer. Although she began performing in small, vaudeville skits in Berlin, she would eventually move onto a career in the theater and later the silver screen. After moving to Hollywood in 1930, she became incredibly popular in American films alongside famous actors such as James Stewart, John Wayne and Fred MacMurray. When the United States entered World War II, Dietrich was one of the first celebrities to join the American war effort. She quickly went on tour across the United States selling war bonds and campaigning for support of the troops among the people at home. 2. Marlene the Spy Marlene Dietrich poses on a tank while in uniform. | Photo credit Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) In 1937, Dietrich – who was then a German citizen – was approached by Nazi representatives and asked to star in propaganda films for the Third Reich. Supposedly, Adolf Hitler himself personally requested that she support the cause. Dietrich, who was staunchly anti-Nazi, refused. Two years later, she renounced her German citizenship and applied for U.S. citizenship – and the Nazis branded her as a traitor. In British wartime radio broadcasts sent over German airwaves, Dietrich spoke directly to her former countrymen: “Hitler is an idiot.” Dietrich also worked with the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.), the predecessor of today’s CIA, to record a series of anti-Nazi albums, using propaganda to weaken the morale of Nazi troops. The broadcasts of these songs and interviews were meant to create tension between the Axis Powers. The U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey “discovered that the programs were just as devastating to German morale as an air raid.” As these broadcasts continued, more and more Germans and Italians began to doubt Nazi and fascist propaganda, and despite Nazi efforts to outlaw the albums, Dietrich’s “Lili Marlene” song was a hit among Nazi
  • 05/6
    1992

    Death

    May 6, 1992
    Death date
    Unknown
    Cause of death
    Paris, Paris County, Île-de-France France
    Death location
  • 05/6
    1992

    Gravesite & Burial

    May 6, 1992
    Funeral date
    Friedhof Stubenrauchstraße in Berlin, Berlin 12161, Germany
    Burial location
  • Obituary

    ObituarySend Flowers Berlin is marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Germany's first worldwide star Marlene Dietrich. The screen icon died ten years ago, hating her home town of Berlin because many there had treated her as a traitor. But the city has still pulled out all the stops to mark what would have been her 100th birthday today, December 27, 2001. Musical galas, film tributes and television documentaries all honor the sultry star who enchanted film, theatre and nightclub audiences in career spanning more than 40 years. Berlin's Film Museum is staging a special exhibition on the diva, titled "Forever Young" - and showing never-before-seen private films of the late star. The effort is echoed by other Dietrich shows at the Schoeneberg district hall and the city's Gay Museum. On Friday, stars including German chanteuse Ute Lemper will perform personal interpretations of Dietrich classics at the Friedrichstadtpalast show hall. Wreaths from President Johannes Rau and the city government were laid in a ceremony at Dietrich's grave in the Friedenau cemetery in the German capital, where she was born named Maria Magdalene von Losch in 1901. Rau sent a message stressing her commitment to "democracy and freedom in Germany" during the Nazi era. The Berlin mayor's chief of staff Andre Schmitz marked the anniversary by asking forgiveness for a hostile reception Dietrich received in 1960, reflecting bitterness at the star's support for the Allies during World War II and her failure to return home after the war. Bomb threats, picket signs reading "Marlene Go Home" and editorials calling her a "traitor" led the actress to swear she would never return to Germany. The actress began her career in the 1920s, singing in local theatres and performing as a small time actress, forming her style in Berlin's decadent pre-nazi film and theatre scene. Her breakthrough came in 1930 with Josef von Sternberg's film 'Der Blaue Engel' (The Blue Angel). The vampish role as cabaret singer Lola-Lola, shot in English and German, is considered her signature performance, and launched her career. A move to Hollywood followed, where her husky voice, high cheekbones and long legs made her famous and lit up cinema screens for decades. She became a worldwide star in the film 'Morocco', playing opposite Gary Cooper. Other films of her heydey include 'Shanghai Express', 'Blonde Venus', 'The Song of Songs', 'The Devil is a Woman', 'Desire' and 'Destry Rides Again' - all honing an exotic style now adored by drag acts and female impersonators. Dietrich became a U.S. citizen in the late 1930s, and consistently refused urges by Hitler's Nazis to return to Germany. She sang for American troops as they fought her countrymen. "She didn't betray the real Germany by doing that," Schmitz said. Dietrich only went back to Germany twice after the war - once in 1947, then again in 1960 for a concert tour. On the second visit, she was met with scattered protests, with some demonstrators spitting at her, and calling her a s***. The star became a recluse in the last decades of her life, dying in Paris in 1992 aged 90. She was buried in Berlin next to the grave of her mother, Josefine. The ceremony was marked by controversy and an official civic ceremony was cancelled because of the lingering resentment. Dietrich's grave has been desecrated at times by vandals. Still, the bittersweet relationship between Dietrich and Berlin - whose tourist office now describes her as "perhaps the most famous Berliner" - didn't end with her death. Only after years of debate did city officials in 1997 approve a plan to name a square after her. The Marlene-Dietrich-Platz, in the new Potsdamer Platz complex, was named after the actress's native Schoeneberg neighborhood failed in a five-year struggle to agree on a suitable site. Some Schoeneberg residents, still bitter over Dietrich's support for the Allies in World War II, had opposed any recognition for her in Berlin. Businesses on the proposed street also didn't want the costs of changing their mailing address.
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36 Memories, Stories & Photos about Marlene

Marlene Dietrich by Lina Volotskova.
Marlene Dietrich by Lina Volotskova.
portrait.
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Douglas Fairbanks Jr. & Marlene Dietrich.
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. & Marlene Dietrich.
A photo of Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Marlene Dietrich.
She was so good to me.
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Marlene Dietrich's, 1905
Marlene Dietrich's, 1905
A photo of Marlene Dietrich
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Do you remember star Marlene Dietrich? She was a legend in show business and was famous as well for her activities for the Allies in WW2 and her (at the time scandalous) personal life. This is a photo of her very early in life - what a beautiful little girl! - in Berlin.
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Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
A photo of Marlene Dietrich. Nathan Lefkowitz was invited to Dietrich's party at the Rainbow Room. October 1967.
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Marlene Dietrich, teenager
Marlene Dietrich, teenager
A photo of Marlene Dietrich as a teenage girl.
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John Springer made sure Dietrich got my letter to her.
John Springer made sure Dietrich got my letter to her.
So Silas Seqadler and I got house seats to her opening night at the Mark Hellinger.
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Marlene Dietrich's Family Tree & Friends

Marlene Dietrich's Family Tree

Parent
Parent
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Rudolf Sieber

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Marlene Dietrich

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Friendships

Marlene's Friends

Friends of Marlene Friends can be as close as family. Add Marlene's family friends, and her friends from childhood through adulthood.
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4 Followers & Sources
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