Annette Kellerman
Annette Marie Sarah Kellerman (often also written Kellermann ) (born July 6, 1887 in Sydney , † November 5, 1975 in Southport ) was an Australian swimmer and film actress .
Beginnings and sporting successes
In her early childhood, Annette Kellerman suffered from an indefinite disability, possibly the consequences of poliomyelitis . To strengthen her leg muscles, her parents taught her to swim. By the age of thirteen she had overcome the handicap and mastered all swimming styles of her time. In 1902 she won the New South Wales Ladies Swimming Competitions in two disciplines - once over 100 yards, once over a mile - in record times.
Show swimming
In the following time, however, she had to use her talents less for sporting reasons than to support her family. Since her father, a musician, could not find any engagements, Annette showed up in the Exhibition Aquarium and appeared in swimming shows. From 1905 she could be seen in Europe, among other things in competition with the then best Austrian swimmer Isa Cescu , whom she easily beat in 1906 on a 36 km long section of the Danube . The year before, she had swum 21 km up the River Thames. But she became known especially for her unsuccessful attempts to swim across the English Channel .
Accustomed to public appearances early on from her parents' house, she decided to go into show business in the USA as an Australian Mermaid and Diving Venus .
In 1907, Annette Kellerman was arrested for causing public nuisance - her sporty swimwear , a tight-fitting one-piece, was perceived as too indecent. However, their arguments in court were recognized and ultimately led to swimwear becoming more functional and safer for women.
In 1974 she was inducted into the international swimming pool 's hall of fame .
Film career
In addition, the coverage of this high-profile case should have drawn the film industry's attention to them. In 1914, Annette Kellerman, who married her manager James Sullivan in 1912, appeared in Neptune's Daughter , later in A Daughters of Gods , 1916 in The Honor System , 1918 in Queen of the Sea and 1920 in What Women Love and The Art of Diving ; their most spectacular film scene took place in a container with alligators. A Daughters of Gods is considered to be the first Hollywood film in which a person (man or woman) - albeit chastely covered on the crucial body parts - appeared completely naked. After the silent film era ended, Annette Kellerman retired from the film business and became a vaudeville star . In later years she did numerous health-speaking tours and for some time ran a healthy eating business in Long Beach . In 1970 she moved back to Australia, where she died five years later on the Gold Coast . She outlived her husband, whom she had been married to for 65 years, by just six days.
Her life was filmed in the 1952 Million Dollar Mermaid with Esther Williams in the lead role.
Publications
- Physical beauty. How to keep it. George H. Doran Company, New York NY 1918.
- How to swim. George H. Doran Company, New York NY 1918.
- Fairy Tales of the South Seas, and other Stories. S. Low, Marston, London 1926.
Web links
- Report and pictures about early swimmers
- Annette Kellerman in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Annette Kellerman in the International Swimming Hall of Fame (English)
- Kellerman , biography, half-length portrait
Individual evidence
- ↑ Justin Parkinson: Annette Kellerman: Hollywood's first nude star. BBC News, February 20, 2016, accessed February 20, 2016 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kellerman, Annette |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kellermann, Annette |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian swimmer and actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 6, 1887 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Sydney |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5th November 1975 |
| Place of death | Southport (Australia) |