Marie Magdalene "Marlene" Dietrich (27 December 1901 - 6 May 1992) was a German actress and singer.
Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself. In 1920s Berlin, she acted on the stage and in silent films. Her performance as Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel, directed by Josef von Sternberg, brought her international fame and a contract with Paramount Pictures in the US. Hollywood films such as Shanghai Express and Desire capitalized on her glamour and exotic looks, cementing her stardom and making her one of the highest paid actresses of the era. Dietrich became a US citizen in 1937; during World War II, she was a high-profile front-line entertainer. Although she still made occasional films in the post-war years, Dietrich spent most of the 1950s through the 1970s touring the world as a successful show performer.
In 1999, the American Film Institute named Dietrich the ninth greatest female star of all time.
Known For
Touch of Evil
(1958)
Tana
Judgment at Nuremberg
(1961)
Mrs. Bertholt
Witness for the Prosecution
(1957)
Christine Vole
Shanghai Express
(1932)
Shanghai Lily
Around the World in Eighty Days
(1956)
Saloon Hostess
Rancho Notorious
(1952)
Altar Keane
Paris When It Sizzles
(1964)
Marlene Dietrich (uncredited)
A Foreign Affair
(1948)
Erika Von Schlüetow
Stage Fright
(1950)
Charlotte Inwood
Morocco
(1930)
Mademoiselle Amy Jolly
The Blue Angel
(1930)
Lola Lola
The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes
(2022)
Self (archive footage)
The Scarlet Empress
(1934)
Princess Sophia Frederica / Catherine II
Destry Rides Again
(1939)
Frenchy
Desire
(1936)
Madeleine de Beaupré
Blonde Venus
(1932)
Helen Faraday, aka Helen Jones
Full Filmography
Acting
Im Schatten des Glücks
(1919)
(unconfirmed)
Man by the Roadside
(1923)
Krämerstochter
The Countess of Paris
(1923)
Lucie
Tragedy of Love
(1923)
Lucy
Leap Into Life
(1924)
Mädchen
Her Dancing Partner
(1925)
Dancer (Extra)
Manon Lescaut
(1926)
Micheline
Cafe Electric
(1927)
Erni Göttlinger - ein flatterhaftes Mädchen
A Modern Dubarry
(1927)
Kokotte
His Greatest Bluff
(1927)
Yvette
The Imaginary Baron
(1927)
Sophie
Heads Up, Charley
(1927)
Edmée Marchand
Art of Love
(1928)
Chichotte de Gastoné
The Woman Men Yearn For
(1929)
Stascha
I Kiss Your Hand, Madame
(1929)
Laurence Gerard / Lucille
The Ship of Lost Men
(1929)
Ethel Marley
Morocco
(1930)
Mademoiselle Amy Jolly
Dangers of the Engagement
(1930)
Evelyne
The Blue Angel
(1930)
Lola Lola
Marlene Dietrich, “The Blue Angel” Screen Test
(1930)
Dishonored
(1931)
Magda / X27
Shanghai Express
(1932)
Shanghai Lily
Blonde Venus
(1932)
Helen Faraday, aka Helen Jones
The Song of Songs
(1933)
Lily Czepanek
The Film Parade
(1933)
(archive footage) (uncredited)
The Scarlet Empress
(1934)
Princess Sophia Frederica / Catherine II
The Devil Is a Woman
(1935)
Concha Perez
The Fashion Side of Hollywood
(1935)
Self
Desire
(1936)
Madeleine de Beaupré
The Garden of Allah
(1936)
Domini Enfilden
Angel
(1937)
Maria 'Angel' Barker, aka Mrs. Brown
Knight Without Armour
(1937)
Countess Alexandra Vladinoff
Destry Rides Again
(1939)
Frenchy
Seven Sinners
(1940)
Bijou
Manpower
(1941)
Fay Duval
The Flame of New Orleans
(1941)
Countess Claire Ledoux, aka Lili
The Spoilers
(1942)
Cherry Malotte
The Lady Is Willing
(1942)
Elizabeth Madden
Pittsburgh
(1942)
Josie 'Hunky' Winters
Breakdowns of 1942
(1942)
Self
Show-Business at War
(1943)
Self
Follow the Boys
(1944)
Marlene Dietrich
Kismet
(1944)
Jamilla
Memo for Joe
(1944)
Self
The Room Upstairs
(1946)
Blanche Ferrand
Golden Earrings
(1947)
Lydia
A Foreign Affair
(1948)
Erika Von Schlüetow
Jigsaw
(1949)
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Stage Fright
(1950)
Charlotte Inwood
No Highway
(1951)
Monica Teasdale
Rancho Notorious
(1952)
Altar Keane
Around the World in Eighty Days
(1956)
Saloon Hostess
The Monte Carlo Story
(1956)
Maria de Crevecoeur
Witness for the Prosecution
(1957)
Christine Vole
Touch of Evil
(1958)
Tana
Judgment at Nuremberg
(1961)
Mrs. Bertholt
Black Fox: The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler
(1962)
Narrator (voice)
Paris When It Sizzles
(1964)
Marlene Dietrich (uncredited)
Triumph Over Violence
(1965)
Self (archive footage)
The Love Goddesses
(1965)
(archive footage)
I Wish You Love
(1973)
Herself
Just a Gigolo
(1978)
Baroness von Semering
Marlene
(1984)
Herself (Voice)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(1984)
Self (archive footage)
Nylon Blues: A History of the Nylon Stocking
(1991)
(archive footage)
The Meeting of Two Queens
(1991)
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
(1994)
(archive footage)
The Casting Couch
(1995)
(archive footage)
No Angel: A Life of Marlene Dietrich
(1996)
Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song
(2002)
Self (archive footage)
The Great Yiddish Love
(2002)
(Archival Footage)
Complicated Women
(2003)
Self (archive footage)
Checking Out: Grand Hotel
(2004)
Self (archive footage)
Hitchcock and 'Stage Fright'
(2004)
Self (archive footage)
Filmlegenden. Deutsch
(2005)
Self (archive footage)
Coisa Mais Linda - Histórias e Casos da Bossa Nova
(2005)
Self (archive footage)
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
(2007)
Self (archive footage)
Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood
(2009)
Self (archive footage)
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
(2010)
Countess Alexandra Vladinoff (archive footage)
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
(2013)
Self (archive footage)
100 Years of the UFA
(2017)
Self - Actress (archive footage)
Becoming Cary Grant
(2017)
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood, la vie rêvée de Lana Turner
(2019)
Self (archive footage)
Cher: In Her Own Words
(2021)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Normandie ne partira pas ce soir
(2021)
The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes
(2022)
Self (archive footage)