Actress, Singer. Born Maria Magdalena von Losch. She appeared in over 70 motion pictures in a career that spanned from 1914 to movie releases made after her death in 1992. Born just outside Berlin, Germany, Dietrich's father was a police lieutenant (other biographies state he was an Army officer), and she was noted for having a number of affairs, including one with a college professor that resulted in his dismissal from school. Dietrich's family nicknamed her "Lena," "Lene," or "Leni." At age about 11, she combined her first two names to form the name "Marlene." In 1920, she entered Germany's cabaret scene as a singer, and she married Rudolf "Rudy" Sieber in 1923, a marriage which lasted until her husband's death in 1976. In 1930, she captured the lead role of a cabaret singer in Josef von Sternberg's "The Blue Angel," which proved to be her breakthrough film. She went immediately to Hollywood, California in the United States, and starred in a series of successful films that would eventually result in her becoming the highest paid actress of the time. Most of these films required her to play a prostitute or woman with low morals, and she yearned to make films playing more positive roles. However, in the late 1930s, her films became popular failures, and she made a remarkable comeback in the 1939 film, "Destry Rides Again" with Jimmy Stewart, where she again was cast as a Saloon hostess. Strongly anti-Nazi, she became an American citizen in 1937, entertained American troops, and campaigned for War Bonds during World War II. In 1947, she received the Medal of Freedom for her strong stand against Nazism; France made her a Chevalier of the Legion. Her last film role of substance was in the 1961 film, "Judgment at Nuremberg." She later performed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in Broadway theaters, and in touring theatricals. She spent the last 13 years of her life withdrawn from public life in her apartment in Paris, France. Her acting style was spoofed by actress Madeline Kahn in the Mel Brooks comedic film "Blazing Saddles" (1974).