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🙂 Greetings to my regular and new readers! The article “Marlene Dietrich: biography, interesting facts” is dedicated to the German and American actress.
The biography of Marlene Dietrich began on December 27, 1901 in Schöneberg (since 1920, a district of Berlin). “Marlene” is a pseudonym made up of the first and second names of the actress, née Maria Magdalena.
The success story of Marlene Dietrich
When director Joseph von Sternberg brought the 29-year-old actress to Hollywood, no one recognized this short, plump brown-haired woman as the star of the Blue Angel. She was 165 cm tall, with a flat chest, wide hips and a raised nose.
This German woman did not fit into Hollywood beauty standards in any way. Therefore, it did not arouse any interest from the producers. However, Sternberg was well aware of the art of transformation, and in his hands was malleable material.
It all started back in Berlin when he noticed a girl on the cabaret stage. Unlike other actresses, she showed an icy indifference to the Hollywood director sitting in the hall. And then she dared to refuse him to have dinner together twice.
Before meeting Sternberg, she had already starred in ten silent German films and gained extravagant fame in the decadent circles of Berlin. From the very morning, she could wrap herself in a boa, put on a monocle and walk around the city in very high-heeled shoes, which were in short supply.
Legs have been the subject of her pride since a young age. Her mother considered her thin calves and wrists to be signs of a “stable.” When the mother thought that little Maria had crooked legs, she made her daughter sleep for two years in heavy steel stocks and walk only in tightly laced high boots.
But later, the actress flaunted only in high-heeled shoes and recognized only such shoes. Maternal concern about the legs brought the future star the first earnings. The girl got a job in a local theater, on stage she lay on her back and twisted her legs “bicycle”.
Along the way, she starred in commercials for nylon tights and underwear. Subsequently, her fantastic legs will be insured for $ 1 million. Not a single tape with her participation will be complete without close-ups of her legs.
Pygmalion and Galatea
The mystery that Marlene has become for the whole world was created: the light, makeup and genius of the director von Sternberg. For Blue Angel, he forced her to pull out four molars to make her cheeks sunken and her face elongated.
Raised his eyebrows, lightened the high cheekbones favorably. I reduced the lower, too fleshy lip with the help of cosmetics and painted the lips with a thin heart. And with the play of light and shadow, the wide nose turned into a kind of fragile butterfly wings. Since then, she has only been filmed under lighting from above – her face seemed to shine in the moonlight.
However, this was not enough to conquer Hollywood, and “Pygmalion” continued to improve his “Galatea”. He put the lover of barley soup and pastries on a strict diet. As a result, she lost 15 kg.
Epsom salt in liters of hot water, coffee and cigarettes became her daily food. A few months later, in Morocco, Dietrich stunned everyone. A smooth wave of blond hair, thin raised eyebrows, a mysterious gleam of eyes and sunken cheeks gave her a dreary and mysterious look.
Instead of a plump German woman, a fatal woman appeared on the screen. But the biggest shock was her attire and behavior – Dietrich in a tailcoat, in a top hat, with a cane sang a French song from a man’s name and frivolously kissed the woman at the table.
For Hollywood in the 30s, where morality still reigned, this was too much. Grueling lessons at the acting school remained behind the scenes: English and Swedish gymnastics, lessons in rhythm, fencing, public speaking, and voice training.
For the next 50 years, she diligently polished her image in films and in life. She herself exhibited the light on the set long before other actors appeared there.
Her energy and efficiency captured everyone around. She knew everything about lenses and soffits, knew about the installation, and picked up the props herself. She paid the bills of her loved ones for the rest of her life. Since childhood, a sense of duty, discipline and self-control have been laid in her – this has become the foundation of her legend.
The queen of outrage
“I dress for myself. Not for the image, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men. ” M.D.
The pant suit that got her name was a shock to the whole world, and for her it was just a comfortable kind of pajamas. She was the first to wear a new stage costume – high boots, short shorts and a white top hat.
But the glory of the icon was brought to her by the “nude” dress from Jean Louis under the swan down mantle: myriads of sequins on the flesh-colored fabric created the effect of a naked body in a dazzling radiance. With the help of a fan, the thin fabric fluttered as Marlene walked up the long stairs, dragging the train of her robes with her.
She did not wear sandals, only closed shoes. It seemed to her that the feet were the ugliest part of a woman’s body that should be hidden.
The actress’s chest lost its shape after the birth of her daughter. But her bust looked flawless without a bra, thanks to the duct tape glued on. She wore a special corset under thin dresses to emphasize the shape even at a very late age.
The actress’s daughter described the daily ritual of putting on a secret corset. At first, Dietrich fastened the belt to the thallium, with which the maid helped her. Then she tied her arms and legs with elastic bandages. The chest was supported by special bowls.
That is why, not only her every movement and breathing was controlled, but also her excellent appearance and harmony.
Woven from contradictions
A woman who fanatically cared about her appearance and lived for 90 years had many bad habits. Marlene smoked a lot and often posed for photographers with a cigarette in her hand. Due to excessive smoking and insufficient blood circulation, her legs were very swollen.
After a two-hour concert and a 62-minute standing ovation, she dipped her feet into salt water to relieve pain and fatigue. Then she put on heels again, climbed onto the roof of the car and signed autographs.
In the end, she still had to go to a surgeon. A photo, sent in gratitude, with a magnetic cut on the evening gown, attested to the success of the operation. Marlene was very fond of drinking. At the performances, between songs, she drank Scotch whiskey or champagne backstage.
Once, not calculating the rate, she fell into the orchestra pit. Dietrich, despite her broken shoulder, finished the concert to the end. She answered the doctors: “I have already gone through two world wars. Is it possible that some kind of fracture can stop me? “
In her later years, Dietrich drank three glasses of her signature “tea” with lemon daily. However, instead of tea, there was brandy in the glass. But for the sake of work, she never gave up sleep and was convinced that a woman who had slept well looked like a queen.
In the morning, after sleeping, she would open the window and breathe deeply. After the air procedures, she lay down on the floor and did a “bicycle” – so her legs looked taut. Before filming, she always went on a tough diet, and after completion she ate with pleasure.
Pork legs, dumplings and beer soup were her specialties. She fed her entire clan with them, which constantly accompanied her: her lover, husband, his mistress, daughter and maid.
At the end of her life, she did not agree to act in films for any money. Only when there was nothing to pay for the apartment, she agreed to give an interview to the Stern magazine for 20 thousand dollars.
Image secrets
Long before the era of plastic surgeons, Marlene used to make her own face garter using a transparent adhesive plaster. However, she did not hide the fact that, first of all, she contours her face with the help of light and shadows. She never worked on set without a mirror. She was confident every second that her makeup and hairstyle were perfect.
She paid the most attention to her eyebrows. She plucked them daily with a thin thread, carefully masked with powder. Then, a little higher than her own, I drew a second line of eyebrows with a pencil.
Her skin was pale, dull, without imperfections, carefully protected from bad weather. She regularly did facial massages. In everyday life, she did not use tone and avoided any makeup that could ruin the natural shine of her skin.
The effect of a weary gaze was achieved with gray shadows. She applied them all over the eyelid. Near the base of the eyelashes, along the entire upper eyelid, she drew a line with a black pencil, which she barely brought out.
The lashes on the upper eyelid were generously painted with ink and faux pasted on to create a slanting look. To make her eyes look big and open, Marlene drew on the inner surface of the lower eyelid with white pencil. She never applied mascara to the lashes of her lower eyelids, so as not to create shadows.
Before shooting close-ups, Dietrich sucked a lemon to keep her mouth and cheek muscles tense. She skillfully emphasized her famous cheeks with blush. The contour of the nose was achieved thanks to a light strip of powder from the bridge of the nose to the tip and a dark powder on the wings of the nose.
The contour of the lips was drawn with a pencil slightly below the natural line and generously painted lips with dark red lipstick. As her make-up artist recalled, on the set, Marlene kissed so passionately that each time she had to apply a completely new layer of lipstick.
“Waterloo” on the head
Marlene called her hair “her Waterloo”. On the screen, they looked darker due to the reddish tint. She was strongly advised to light her hair so that in the frame they would be blond as in “life”. She stubbornly refused.
Marlene’s hair was a total horror for hairdressers: it did not give in to perms. At six in the morning, curling began, then drying, which burned the skin, but it was all in vain. It was only thanks to the hot tongs that Marlene’s curls were ready to appear in front of the camera.
For a radiant shine, Marlene ordered real gold dust from Max Factor and sprinkled it on her hair.
On May 6, 1992, the Cannes Festival opened in France, the symbol of which was proclaimed Marlene Dietrich. Paris was covered in posters with her face. On this day, the 90-year-old actress was bedridden. She was examined by a doctor and confirmed that she was healthy and would live.
A few hours later she was gone. Officially – her heart stopped, unofficially – she took sleeping pills.
Interesting Facts
- Full name: Maria Magdalena Dietrich von Losch.
- Height: 165 cm.
- Parameters: 89-61-84.
- Zodiac sign – Capricorn
- Hair color: natural brown, dyed blond.
- Favorite men: Rudolf Sieber (husband), Erich Maria Remarque, Ernest Hemingway.
- Favorite fragrances: Fracas by Robert Piguet, Vol de Nuit and Tabac Blond.
- Favorite food: sausages with cabbage.
Marlene Dietrich’s beauty secret
Face mask recipe:
- one egg yolk;
- 1 tsp. honey;
- 1 tsp cream;
- a few drops of lemon juice.
Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Apply the mask to the face, rinse off after 20 minutes and rinse the face with cold water.
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