Marlene Dietrich

Marie Magdelene Dietrich von Losch (aka Marlene) was born in Berlin, Germany on December 27, 1901. Her father was an army officer who died when she was 11 and Marlene's mother married Eduard von Losch who 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 was accepted at the acting school run by Max Reinhardt and appeared in several stage productions, but never had more than a couple of spoken lines.

She attempted films for the first time in 1922 Her first film was The Little Napoleon (1923) which was followed by Tragödie der Liebe (1923). On this last project, she met Rudolf Sieber and married him in 1924. The union lasted until his death in 1976 although they only lived together for 5 years. 
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). 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. In 1932, Marlene filmed Shanghai Express which proved to be immensely popular raking in $3 million. Once again, she was cast as a prostitute. 

Marlene seemed to be typecast as a woman of low morals. 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. 

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.

MD caused a scandal wearing a Basque Beret in the 1920's (a man's headgear!) and started a collection of 64 berets from there.