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This week’s heroine is: Marlene Dietrich (1901 – 1992)

Also known as: Blonde Venus, The Scarlet Empress (both titles of films she starred in) and Lola-Lola, her character’s name in her breakthrough role in 1930 cabaret cult classic, The Blue Angel.

Our heroine’s social scene: 1920s-30s Berlin then 1950s Vegas

Famous for: Her husky voice (which contributed to a cult following and a successful recording career), her enigmatic femme fatale roles, and her lovely long legs, which everyone in Hollywood drooled over. During the WW2, she refused Hitler’s attempts to win her over as a Nazi poster girl (he’d offered vast amounts of money and a whole host of starring roles), and instead became a US citizen, entertaining Allied troops at USO shows with cabaret tunes and by playing the musical saw.

Infamous for: Marlene was a germophobe who hated feet and kept her own hidden at all times. She claimed her favourite meal was hotdogs and champagne, insisted that make-up artists on her films added real gold dust to her wigs for extra sparkle, and kissed her co-stars so hard that her lipstick needed reapplying after every take.

Reason she’s a heroine: Famously quoted as saying “Sex is much better with a woman, but one can’t live with a woman!” Marlene was bisexual and a regular at the drag balls, gay clubs and cabarets of pre-war Berlin. Renowned for her appeal to both men and women,she became a fashion icon for her flirtation with masculine tailoring, often appearing onstage in a tuxedo. She was intrigued by androgyny and enjoyed experimenting with gender and identity.

Any famous friends/lovers: Socialite and playwright Mercedes de Acosta (who bedded several others of Hollywood’s hottest women from that time, including Tallulah Bankhead and Greta Garbo), along with rumoured affairs with Edith Piaf, Frank Sinatra and three of the Kennedy clan.

If she were alive today, she’d be: Annie Lennox circa mid-80s

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