Marlene Dietrich

Dietrich, Marlene 

(pseudonym of Maria Magdalene von Losch). Born Dec. 27, 1904, in Berlin. American actress; German by birth.

Dietrich studied at the Musical Academy and at M. Reinhardt’s School of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. She made her debut in theater and in motion pictures in 1922. Her first major role was in the film The Blue Angel (1930, based on a novel by H. Mann). In 1930 she went to Hollywood and appeared in the role of a vamp in the exotic films of the director J. von Sternberg: Morocco (1930), Shanghai Express (1932), The Scarlet Empress (1934), and The Devil Is a Woman (1935); she became one of the most popular stars of American motion pictures in the 1930’s. During World War II (1939-45), Dietrich took an active part in antifascist propaganda and appeared as a singer before American troops. In films of the postwar period she returned to her former roles. In the 1950’s, with her transition to roles of older heroines, she proved herself a gifted actress, creating brilliant, complex characters in the films Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Judgment at Nuremberg (1962), and others. She is also famous as a stage singer.

REFERENCES

Griffith, R. Marlene Dietrich. New York, 1959.
Kobal, J. Marlene Dietrich. London-New York, 1968.

V. A. UTILOV