German actress and singer
Born December 27, 1901 in Berlin-Schöneberg, German Empire
Died May 6, 1992 in Paris, France.
In 1920s Berlin, Dietrich performed on stage and in silent films. Her role as Lola Lola in Josef von Sternberg's The Blue Angel (1930) received international attention and she gained a contract with Paramount Pictures. She settled in the United States in 1930, starred in Hollywood films and became an naturalized American citizen in 1937. Throughout World War II, she was a high-profile entertainer, and afterwards appeared in several post-war films. From the 1950s to the 1970s, she toured internationally as a marquee live-show performer. Her visit to West Germany in 1960 for a concert tour received a mixed reception and she vowed never to return. After an accident on stage in September 1975 resulting in her breaking a thigh bone, her career largely ended. Her last 13 years were spent secluded in her Paris apartment.