An Academy Award-nominated German-American actress, entertainer and singer with a passion! (December 27, 1901 – May 6, 1992)

Maria Magdalene Dietrich Von Losch was the name that she was born with.

Becoming an Actress Before Marlene became an actress, she was an accomplished violinist. After she suffered an injury to her hand, playing the violin was not an option. She then turned to acting. Marlene applied to the Berlin school of drama. She made it in and supported her admissions by working in a glove factory. While attending the Berlin school of drama, she met and married casting director Rudolf Sieber. That same year, her first and only daughter, Maria, was born. Even though the marriage between Marlene and Rudolf didn’t work out, they never got divorced. They remained friendly until Marlene died in 1992.

Acting In 1929 Marlene stunted her acting career with her first major movie. The movie “The Blue Angel”, in which Marlene starred as the seductive night club singer, was on of the first major movies with sound. This boosted Marlene’s fame a lot. In 1931 Marlene made her American debut. She starred in the movie “Morocco”. She created a great commotion with her portrayal of a night club singer in a tuxedo. She soon became Hollywood’s “It” girl of the early 1900’s. She starred in films such as “Song of Songs” and “The Devil is a Woman”. Joseph Goebbels offered to make her the “Queen” of German films, but to do that she would have to star in Hitler promoting films, but she refused time and again.

Passing Away May 6, 1992 was a very somber day around the world. Marlene Dietrich died that day. She died in her sleep.The funeral services were held on May 10 at La Madelaine. She was buried next to her mother in her birth town, Berlin.

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