PHOTO: EAST NEWS/AFP PHOTO
Marlene Dietrich is surrounded by her daughter in Paris, 27 November 1959, after she performed at the Theatre de l'Etoile. Marie Magdalene Dietrich was born in Berlin-Schoneberg, 27 December 1901. Married in 1923 to Rudolf Sieber, she gave birth to a daughter, Maria Elizabeth Sieber. After she had appeared in 17 silent films from 1921 to 1929, Dietrich became the venus of sound film with her legendary performance as the nightclub singer "Lola Lola" in "The Blue Angel" (1929/30). Directly after opening night of "The Blue Angel" Dietrich left Germany and went to America, where Josef von Sternberg and Paramount studios were waiting for her. She acted in more than 35 sound movies with the world's best known directors. "Shangai Express" in 1932 and "The Devil is a Woman" in 1935, both directed by Josef von Sternberg, "A Foreign Affair" (1948) directed by Billy Wilder, "Stage Fright" (1951) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, "Rancho Notorious" (1952) directed by Fritz Lang, "Touch of Evil" (1958) directed by Orson Wells, and a legendary courtroom thriller "Witness for the Prosecution (1958) directed by Billy Wilder, "Judgment at Nuremberg" in 1961 directed by Stanley Kramer and finally "Just a Gigolo" in 1978, in which she also performed her last song. In 1944-45 Dietrich entertained American troops in North Africa and Europe, for which she received awards from the United States, France and Israel. She died in her sleep in Paris, 06A'/LM/W3SVC/1/Root/Sy3.1.5a 00365291