Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich a German-American actress, dancer, and singer, as well as a fashion and cultural icon.

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Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich, born Marie Magdalene Dietrich, on December 27, 1901, in Schöneberg, Berlin, Germany. Her father, Louis Erich Otto Dietrich, served as a police lieutenant after a military career. Her mother, Wilhelmina Elisabeth Josephine Felsing, came from a family of jewelers and clockmakers. Marlene had an older sister, Elisabeth, born a year earlier. The family lived a middle-class life in Berlin. Louis died in 1907 after a fall from his horse, leaving Wilhelmina to raise the girls alone. In 1914, Wilhelmina married Eduard von Losch, a cavalry officer and Louis’s friend. Eduard died two years later from World War I injuries.

Marlene’s upbringing reflected discipline. Her father instilled a military mindset, while her mother emphasized independence. The family nicknamed her “Lena.” Tutors taught Marlene and Elisabeth French, English, ballet, violin, and piano at home before formal schooling.

The Artistic Foundation

Marlene attended a private school in Berlin, mastering English and French by age 12. She developed a passion for music, aiming to become a concert violinist. A wrist injury in her teens ended that dream. She then turned to acting, drawn to Weimar Berlin’s cabaret scene. In 1921, Marlene enrolled in Max Reinhardt’s Deutsche Theaterschule. She joined Reinhardt’s theater company, starting with small roles. Her first job came in 1922 as a pit orchestra violinist, lasting four weeks. She then worked as a chorus girl in revues by Rudolf Nelson and Guido Thielscher in Berlin.

Marlene debuted on screen in 1923 with a small role in The Little Napoleon. That same year, she appeared in Tragedy of Love, meeting Rudolf Sieber, an assistant director. She performed in Vienna and Berlin throughout the 1920s, taking roles in plays like Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Shaw’s Back to Methuselah. Her first lead role came in 1929 with Die Frau, Nach Der Man Sich Sehnt, marking her rise in German cinema.

Breakthrough and Stardom

Dietrich landed her first iconic role of Lola Lola in The Blue Angel (1930), directed by Josef von Sternberg. Lola Lola was a cabaret singer who seduces a professor, delivering her signature song, “Falling in Love Again.” In 1930, after The Blue Angel’s international success, Dietrich got a Paramount Pictures contract and moved to the US. This was the beginning of her collaboration with Josef von Sternberg, who was established in Hollywood. The studio sought to market Dietrich as a German answer to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Swedish-born star Greta Garbo.

Dietrich starred in six films directed by von Sternberg at Paramount between 1930 and 1935. The first was Morocco (1930), she portrayed Amy Jolly, a singer who kisses a woman while in a tuxedo, earning her only Academy Award nomination. Shanghai Express (1932) featured her as Shanghai Lily, a mysterious woman on a train. Her other films with Von Sternberg were Dishonoured (1931); Blonde Venus (1932) opposite Cary Grant; The Scarlet Empress (1934); and The Devil is a Woman (1935). Von Sternberg worked effectively with Dietrich to create the image of a glamorous and mysterious femme fatale. Dietrich later remarked that she was at her most beautiful in The Devil Is a Woman.

Continuing Success and

After the end of her partnership with von Sternberg, she goes on to star in Frank Borzage’s Desire (1936) with Gary Cooper, I Loved a Soldier (1936), The Garden of Allah (1936) for independent producer David O. Selznick, Knight Without Armour (1937), Seven Sinners (1940), and The Spoilers (1942), both with John Wayne.

During her U.S. tour from January 1942 to September 1943, she reportedly outsold other stars in war bond sales. In recognition of her exceptional contributions entertaining troops overseas during the war, often near the front lines. She also recorded anti-Nazi messages. In recognition of her exceptional contributions Dietrich received the Medal of Freedom in November 1947 and the French Légion d’Honneur. In 1960, her Berlin concert faced protests from Germans who called her a traitor. Berlin later honored her as an honorary citizen in 2002.

Later Roles and Cabaret Queen.

After World War II, she started performing in motion pictures again. She starred in Mitchell Leisen’s Golden Earrings in 1947. A Foreign Affair (1948), directed by Billy Wilder, cast her as Erika von Schlutow, a cynical cabaret singer in postwar Berlin. She the starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright (1950). Her appearances in the 1950s included films such as Fritz Lang’s Rancho Notorious (1952), and Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil (1958). Her performance in Witness for the Prosecution (1957) as Christine Vole, a deceptive wife, earned critical acclaim.

Her last substantial film role was in Judgement at Nuremberg (1961), directed by Stanley Kramer. In the film she played Frau Bertholt, a German widow. Marlene also presented the narrative for the documentary Black Fox: The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1962.

Starting from the early 1950s and continuing until the mid-1970s, Dietrich focused primarily on her career as a cabaret artist, captivating audiences in large theatres across major cities globally. Employing body-sculpting undergarments, temporary facelift techniques (using tape), expertly applied makeup, and wigs, coupled with strategic stage lighting, Dietrich skilfully maintained her glamorous image as she gracefully aged.

Health Challanges

In her 60s and 70s, Dietrich faced health challenges, overcoming cervical cancer in 1965. She became increasingly reliant on painkillers and alcohol. A stage mishap at the Shady Grove Music Fair in Maryland in 1973 resulted in a left thigh injury. She experienced a fractured right leg in August 1974, and a significant incident occurred on September 29, 1975, when she fell and broke a thigh bone during a performance in Sydney, Australia.

Dietrich’s final appearance on film was a brief role in Just a Gigolo (1979), alongside David Bowie and directed by David Hemmings, where she also sang the title song.

In her last years, Dietrich chose seclusion at her apartment on “12 Avenue Montaigne in Paris.” She spent much of the final 13 years in bed, limiting access to a select few, including family and staff. Despite her seclusion, she remained active in communication, frequently writing letters and making phone calls. Her autobiography, “Nehmt nur mein Leben” (Take Just My Life), was published in 1979.

In 1982, she agreed to participate in a documentary about her life titled “Marlene” (1984). The film skilfully weaves together archival footage, interviews, and personal reflections, providing an intimate portrait of Dietrich’s extraordinary career and her reclusive later years.

Marlene married Rudolf Sieber on May 17, 1923. They had one daughter, Maria Elisabeth Sieber (later Maria Riva), born on December 13, 1924. The couple separated after five years but never divorced, remaining married until Rudolf’s death in 1976. Rudolf had a long-term relationship with dancer Tami Matul, which Marlene supported, even gifting Tami and allowing her to spend time with Maria. Marlene had numerous affairs with stars like Gary Cooper, Jean Gabin, and Edith Piaf, and was openly bisexual. Her relationship with John Gilbert ended tragically with his death from heart attacks, leaving her devastated.

Marlene’s daughter Maria later wrote a critical memoir, Marlene Dietrich (1992), detailing their strained relationship.  Marlene died on May 6, 1992, in Paris at 90, from liver and kidney failure. She was buried in Berlin beside her mother.

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