---
name: "Marlene Dietrich"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/marlene-dietrich"
fi1m_id: "marlene-dietrich"
imdb_id: "nm0000017"
tmdb_id: 2896
wikidata_id: "Q4612"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "27 December 1901"
died: "6 May 1992"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 81
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 7
updated: "2026-09-25T08:12:13.208112+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Marlene Dietrich

## Identity

Marlene Dietrich

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/marlene-dietrich
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** marlene-dietrich
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000017
- **TMDB ID:** 2896
- **Wikidata ID:** Q4612
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlene_Dietrich, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4612, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000017/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2896

Actor. Born 27 December 1901 in Berlin, Germany. Died 6 May 1992.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 27 December 1901, Berlin, Germany
- **Died:** 6 May 1992
- **Active:** 1930–1961
- **Also known as:**  Marlena Dietrichová , Marie Magdalene Dietrich , Marie Magdalene von Losch
- **Frequently works with:** [Josef von Sternberg](https://film.one/person/josef-von-sternberg.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 81, as actor, over 7 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 82 (3), 1950s 79 (3), 1960s 82 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 81 to 78 across 7 titles
- **Score spread:** 6 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 4 of 6 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Comedy 2, Crime 2, Romance 2, Adventure 1, Family 1
- **Screen time:** 15 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $63m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlene_Dietrich, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4612, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000017/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2896

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*Witness for the Prosecution*](https://film.one/film/witness-for-the-prosecution.md) (87), [*Around the World in 80 Days*](https://film.one/film/around-the-world-in-80-days.md) (63)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Judgment at Nuremberg*](https://film.one/film/judgment-at-nuremberg.md) (82), [*The Blue Angel*](https://film.one/film/the-blue-angel.md) (81)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Marlene Dietrich

> Marlene Dietrich makes straightforward dialogue sound as though it needs a second hearing. We value the uncertainty she brings to a part, especially when a director gives her more to do than look carefully arranged.

Christine speaks, and we find ourselves weighing more than the words. In Billy Wilder’s *Witness for the Prosecution* (1957), Marlene Dietrich makes apparently straightforward dialogue difficult to take at face value. We were absorbed by her because she kept us reconsidering our first impressions without needing the largest performance in the film. This is where we rate her most highly: keeping us interested in a character whom she gives us no easy way to judge.

The early screen image was more insistently arranged. Her breakthrough as Lola Lola in Josef von Sternberg’s *The Blue Angel* (1930) led to Hollywood. In *Morocco* (1930), the tailored suits and top hats helped establish an androgynous persona. Her husky singing voice and deliberate acting were just as important to the impression she made; nothing about that combination depended on appearing casual.

*Shanghai Express* (1932) also shows the risk of that approach: the performance can seem too posed, with more attention paid to visual effect than to natural behaviour. The Western comedy *Destry Rides Again* (1939), with her playing Frenchy against type, revived her career. Later supporting roles included Mrs. Bertholt in Stanley Kramer’s *Judgment at Nuremberg* (1961).

Wilder gives her something particularly useful in *Witness for the Prosecution*: a story in which the meaning of what people say matters. He allows Dietrich and Tyrone Power time to complicate our first impressions rather than fixing them at their introduction. Power’s Leonard Vole holds our attention without competing with Charles Laughton’s barrister for the largest performance, while Christine invites still closer inspection. That patience with the actors supplies suspense, because we have reasons to keep listening beyond finding out what happens next.

The plotting sometimes asks too much of the characters, and Dietrich cannot remove that reservation. But this is a sharply acted, consistently entertaining film, with her contribution worth attending to beside Laughton’s more expansive work. Start with *Witness for the Prosecution* for the pleasure of hearing a line and reconsidering it.

## Biography

Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer. Born Marie Magdalene Dietrich on 27 December 1901 in Berlin, Germany, she began performing on stage and in silent films in 1920s Berlin. She married film professional Rudolf Sieber in 1923. Her breakthrough came with the role of Lola Lola in *The Blue Angel* (1930), directed by Josef von Sternberg.

She moved to Hollywood under contract to Paramount Pictures and appeared in further films directed by von Sternberg, including *Morocco* (1930) and *Shanghai Express* (1932). Later credits include *Destry Rides Again* (1939), *Stage Fright* (1950), *Touch of Evil* (1958), *Witness for the Prosecution* (1957) as Christine, and *Judgment at Nuremberg* (1961) as Mrs. Bertholt. She became a United States citizen in 1937 and entertained Allied troops during the Second World War.

Dietrich continued to perform as a cabaret singer into the 1970s. She died on 6 May 1992 in Paris, France.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com, rottentomatoes.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (7)

- *Judgment at Nuremberg* (1961), Fi1m 82, as Mrs. Bertholt — [page](https://film.one/film/judgment-at-nuremberg.md)
- *Touch of Evil* (1958), Fi1m 88, as Tana — [page](https://film.one/film/touch-of-evil.md)
- *Witness for the Prosecution* (1957), Fi1m 87, as Christine — [page](https://film.one/film/witness-for-the-prosecution.md)
- *Around the World in 80 Days* (1956), Fi1m 63, as Saloon Hostess — [page](https://film.one/film/around-the-world-in-80-days.md)
- *Destry Rides Again* (1939), Fi1m 84, as Frenchy — [page](https://film.one/film/destry-rides-again.md)
- *Shanghai Express* (1932), Fi1m 80, as Shanghai Lily — [page](https://film.one/film/shanghai-express.md)
- *The Blue Angel* (1930), Fi1m 81, as Lola Lola — [page](https://film.one/film/the-blue-angel.md)

## Complete filmography (68)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year* (2023), series, Actor
- *Mythos Côte d'Azur - Liebe, Luxus, Leidenschaft* (2021), Actor
- *Normandie ne partira pas ce soir* (2021), Actor
- *Bodies and Spaces, Fabric and Light* (2018), as (archive footage)
- *Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff* (2010), as Countess Alexandra Vladinoff (archive footage)
- *The Great Yiddish Love* (2002), as (archive footage)
- *No Angel: A Life of Marlene Dietrich* (1996), Actor
- *The Casting Couch* (1995), Actor
- *That's Entertainment! III* (1994), as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *The Meeting of Two Queens* (1991), as (archive footage)
- *Nylon Blues: A History of the Nylon Stocking* (1991), as (archive footage)
- *Just a Gigolo* (1978), as Baroness von Semering
- *Ettan gästar: Marlene Dietrich* (1971), as Interviewee, herself
- *Paris When It Sizzles* (1964), as Marlene Dietrich (uncredited)
- *Where Have All the Flowers Gone?* (1963), Actor
- *Black Fox: The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler* (1962), as Narrator (voice)
- *Judgment at Nuremberg* (1961), as Mrs. Bertholt — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/judgment-at-nuremberg.md)
- *Touch of Evil* (1958), as Tana — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/touch-of-evil.md)
- *Witness for the Prosecution* (1957), as Christine — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/witness-for-the-prosecution.md)
- *The Monte Carlo Story* (1956), as Maria de Crevecoeur
- *Around the World in 80 Days* (1956), as Saloon Hostess — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/around-the-world-in-80-days.md)
- *Rancho Notorious* (1952), as Altar Keane
- *No Highway in the Sky* (1951), as Monica Teasdale
- *Stage Fright* (1950), as Charlotte Inwood
- *Jigsaw* (1949), as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
- *A Foreign Affair* (1948), as Erika Von Schlüetow
- *Golden Earrings* (1947), as Lydia
- *Martin Roumagnac* (1946), as Blanche Ferrand
- *Kismet* (1944), as Jamilla
- *Follow the Boys* (1944), as Marlene Dietrich
- *Pittsburgh* (1942), as Josie 'Hunky' Winters
- *The Spoilers* (1942), as Cherry Malotte
- *The Lady Is Willing* (1942), as Elizabeth Madden
- *Manpower* (1941), as Fay Duval
- *The Flame of New Orleans* (1941), as Countess Claire Ledoux, aka Lili
- *Seven Sinners* (1940), as Bijou
- *Destry Rides Again* (1939), as Frenchy — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/destry-rides-again.md)
- *Angel* (1937), as Lady Maria Barker, aka Angel
- *Knight Without Armour* (1937), as Countess Alexandra Vladinoff
- *The Garden of Allah* (1936), as Domini Enfilden
- *Desire* (1936), as Madeleine de Beaupré
- *The Devil Is a Woman* (1935), as Concha Perez
- *The Scarlet Empress* (1934), as Princess Sophia Frederica / Catherine II
- *The Song of Songs* (1933), as Lily Czepanek
- *The Film Parade* (1933), as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *Blonde Venus* (1932), as Helen Faraday, aka Helen Jones
- *Shanghai Express* (1932), as Shanghai Lily — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/shanghai-express.md)
- *Dishonored* (1931), as Magda / X27
- *Marlene Dietrich, “The Blue Angel” Screen Test* (1930), Actor
- *Morocco* (1930), as Mademoiselle Amy Jolly
- *The Blue Angel* (1930), as Lola Lola — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/the-blue-angel.md)
- *Dangers of the Engagement Period* (1930), as Evelyne
- *The Ship of Lost Men* (1929), as Ethel Marley
- *The Woman One Longs For* (1929), as Stascha
- *I Kiss Your Hand, Madame* (1929), as Laurence Gerard / Lucille
- *Art of Love* (1928), as Chichotte de Gastoné
- *Cafe Electric* (1927), as Erni Göttlinger - ein flatterhaftes Mädchen
- *His Greatest Bluff* (1927), as Yvette
- *Heads Up, Charley* (1927), as Edmée Marchand
- *The Imaginary Baron* (1927), as Sophie
- *A Modern Dubarry* (1927), as Kokotte
- *Manon Lescaut* (1926), as Micheline
- *Her Dancing Partner* (1925), as Dancer (Extra)
- *Leap Into Life* (1924), as Mädchen
- *The Countess of Paris* (1923), as Lucie
- *The Tragedy of Love* (1923), as Lucy
- *Man by the Roadside* (1923), as Krämerstochter
- *Im Schatten des Glücks* (1919), as (unconfirmed)

## Gallery

- ![Marlene Dietrich](https://film.one/media/person/103031/gallery-ec4db112d7d5.jpg) Marlene Dietrich — für die Datei Arths-at, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Marlene_Dietrich_Ross-Verlag_0875%28crop%29.jpg/1280px-Marlene_Dietrich_Ross-Verlag_0875%28crop%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Walk of Fame of Cabaret: Marlene Dietrich (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/103031/gallery-9200d9415b00.jpg) Walk of Fame of Cabaret: Marlene Dietrich (2018) — Olaf Kosinsky, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/2018-07-18_Sterne_der_Satire_-_Walk_of_Fame_des_Kabaretts_Nr_74_Marlene_Dietrich-1106.jpg/1280px-2018-07-18_Sterne_der_Satire_-_Walk_of_Fame_des_Kabaretts_Nr_74_Marlene_Dietrich-1106.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Marlene Dietrich in Angel (1937).](https://film.one/media/person/103031/gallery-65294a205a72.jpg) Marlene Dietrich in Angel (1937). — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Angel_%281937%29.jpg/1280px-Angel_%281937%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Theatrical release poster for the 1937 film Angel. (2026)](https://film.one/media/person/103031/gallery-47e4ddb249df.png) Theatrical release poster for the 1937 film Angel. (2026) — Paramount Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Angel_%281937_film_poster%29.png/1280px-Angel_%281937_film_poster%29.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Marlene Dietrich](https://film.one/media/person/103031/gallery-f972e231bfd2.jpg) Marlene Dietrich — Image via TMDB
- ![Marlene Dietrich](https://film.one/media/person/103031/gallery-627034233c35.jpg) Marlene Dietrich — Image via TMDB
- ![Marlene Dietrich](https://film.one/media/person/103031/gallery-5b337e6da6a1.jpg) Marlene Dietrich — Image via TMDB
- ![This is a photograph that I took of my father's [George Kerasotes] awards and I would like them on my wiki page "George Kerasotes" under the Awards Section. Do  (1994)](https://film.one/media/person/103031/gallery-186adba04687.jpg) This is a photograph that I took of my father's [George Kerasotes] awards and I would like them on my wiki page "George Kerasotes" under the Awards Section. Do  (1994) — MichaelKerasotes, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Awards_for_George_Kerasotes%2C_January_1994.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Promotional still from the 1939 film, Destry Rides Again](https://film.one/media/person/103031/gallery-f667b4ea1402.jpg) Promotional still from the 1939 film, Destry Rides Again — Universal Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Destry-Rides-Again-1939_%28original%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Marlene Dietrich](https://film.one/media/person/103031/gallery-e29fb723f404.jpg) Marlene Dietrich — Image via TMDB
- ![Marlene Dietrich](https://film.one/media/person/103031/gallery-2ed480754ad7.jpg) Marlene Dietrich — Image via TMDB
- ![Marlene Dietrich](https://film.one/media/person/103031/gallery-e136a8424d5a.jpg) Marlene Dietrich — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1931: Best Actress (nominated), for *Morocco*

### Other awards — 3 won

- CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award 1986: CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award (won)
- German Film Honorary Award 1980: German Film Honorary Award (won)
- Medal of Freedom 1947: Medal of Freedom (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/marlene-dietrich