Born in Schöneberg,c(a small town just outside Berlin) in 1901, the daughter of a Prussian police officer, she grew up in a atmosphere of privilege and German-Victorian rectitude before plunging, as a young actress, into the hectic, sexually liberated (and sexually ambiguous) world of 1920s Berlin. When she was cast by Josef von Sternberg in The Blue Angel in 1929 the major influences on her life and career were in place.

With the success of this film, von Sternberg immediately took her to Hollywood, introducing her to the world in Morocco (1930), and signing an agreement to produce all her films. A series of successes followed, and Marlene became the highest paid actress of her time, but her later films in the mid part of the decade were critical and popular failures.

Dietrich's name evokes the quintessence of feminine enchantment, her picture remains the 20th Century's great icon of cosmopolitan glamour and elegant sexual allure, yet she persistently denied any similarity between her public image and her private self. In forty years as a film actress she seduced, and was seduced by, the camera. When her film career faltered she created a new role for herself wh

led to a remarkable contribution to the Allied effort in the Second World War (she had become a United States citizen on March 6, 1937).