Marie Magdalene Dietrich was born on December 27, 1901 in Berlin/Germany to a Prussian police officer and the daughter of well-to-do jewellers. Like Garbo she lost her father at an early age - she was only six when he died of injuries sustained in an equestrian accident - but unlike Garbo she gained a step-father whom she learned to love. More important to her upbringing than affection, though, was obedience.
The famous GG/MD montage by E. Steichen
This virtue, so different from Garbo's stubborn resistance, would lead Dietrich to fame. After various parts in German Silent movies, Dietrich raised with von Sternberg's The Blue Angel to fame, and left Berlin in order to become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history.
When Marlene arrived in Hollywood, Garbo was the ultimate star there. Paramount and many other studios wanted to create a new Garbo and it seamed that in those days and even decades later, the whole world was looking for a new Garbo. A “singing Garbo”, a “German, Italian, French etc. - Garbo”, a “laughing Garbo”, a “Male Garbo”, a “red-headed Garbo” and even a “female Garbo” (if this is even imaginable). The whole world had a Garbo - complex.
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