I have always been a huge fan of celebrity memoirs and "old hollywood." Marlene Dietrich by Maria Riva gives us an intimate glimpse into Dietrich's life from her own daughter, and it was incredibly interesting. It was hard to put down, each chapter was very interesting. It was great to get a more "personal" look into the life of an actress that I did not know very much about.

An interesting, detailed biography of one of the greats of early Hollywood/cinema - by Dietrich's daughter. Offers some interesting personal insight into the person, as well as sharing previously unavailable material to paint a portrait of her mother and her career. It's perhaps a little too long, but there are interesting bits throughout.

I really like to read biographies of powerful women, but this one had so much detail. I only read part of it because it just could not keep my interest for a book of this length.

Love Dietrich! This book by her daughter is punctuated with letters and diary entries from both Maria and Marlene. Who could not be but fascinated by this enigmatic woman. I was particularly drawn to her earlier life before she became the Hollywood star.

Marlene Dietrich is best known for being a Hollywood actress in the 1930s and beyond. This book, written by her only child, goes far beyond the glitz and glamor of fame to the real enigma that is Dietrich.

What I really liked about this book is that the quality of the narrative grows as the narrator grows in age, from a small girl in Germany to being a full-time assistant to her famous mother. At times Riva is mesmerized by Dietrich as much as the public would have been, and other times she digs deeper into the story to expose the lies that Dietrich liked to tell herself and those around her. The book exposes a lot of Dietrich's diaries, starting back from when she was just a teen. It also exposes many of her affairs, though some still remain unnamed for various reasons. Overall, it is a star biography that cannot be passed up, especially for those who like vintage Hollywood.

I enjoyed this book, but I confess I scanned chunks of it as it is a long book... written by Dietrich's daughter it is not a nasty book but it is honest. I found Marlene's early years fascinating and learned loads I hadn’t known about a woman with a life full of drama. It was a bit drawn out and could’ve been tightened up but it’s well written and gives an insight into the life of an unusual family.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

I loved this book. A history of European Ciinema, Hollywood History in the golden age and an intimate portrait of one of our most enigmatic yet trailblazing actresses- trailblazing I’m the sense of redefining gender roles and what ti means to be a woman. A precursor of sorts to Madonna and Lady Gaga, this is a fascinating book.

This is an absorbing biography of Dietrich by her daughter, Maria Riva. We are given the star’s life in detail, from her birth until her death. Riva’s life was closely twined with her mother’s from the day she was born- her mother used her as constant companion (who needs school when you can be your mother’s dresser?) and servant- so she was there to see and hear what Dietrich did and said for decades. From an early age, Riva was aware of her mother’s constant sexual escapades- sex and performances are the main themes of the book, along with Riva’s attempts to escape her mother’s life and have a life of her own. Dietrich had no concept of boundaries, and said and did the most atrocious things in front of her daughter, and then her son-in-law (when Dietrich returned from having sex with John Kennedy, she pulled her used panties out of her purse and thrust them to her son-in-law’s nose, encouraging him to smell the scent of the president!) and then even her grandchildren. She lied about her age, which meant she had to lie about her daughter’s age, too. When Riva was in her teens, she was still being dressed as a little girl, to enforce the illusion that Dietrich had only given birth to her a few years before. Dietrich drank heavily (especially late in life) and was her own pharmacist, in the years when amphetamines and downers were easily gotten. As far as I could tell, she never gave a thought to anyone else unless they could do something for her.

But she was beautiful, and could enthrall audiences. She was smart- she learned from wardrobe, lighting people, directors and anyone else and applied what she learned to her art. Josef von Sternberg, the man who made her a star in ‘Blue Angel’ and with whom she had an on again, off again affair for years, taught her the most- mainly, how to light herself for the effects she wanted. Thankfully, most of the people she worked with were willing to take her orders. She was a hard worker; she spent money like it was water- supporting herself, her daughter, her husband with whom she did not live (most of the time), her husband’s mistress, and giving extravagant gifts to her lovers- so she had to work almost all the time. She was strict with herself when working, and had bulimia, which allowed her to eat the rich foods she loved and still lose weight. Sadly, in her old age, she developed some dementia and that, along with her alcoholism and drug use, made her last years sad indeed.

Of course this is the biography of Riva, too. As long as her mother was alive, their lives were entwined. Riva did carve out her own life, though, becoming a television star for many years and raising a family. I was entranced by this biography- I couldn’t stop reading because every time I figured Dietrich couldn’t do anything worse, of course she would!

You can't get closer to the true source than a memoir written by an immediate family member. Riva quotes from a treasure trove of first-rate materials, including her mother's many diaries, begun when Dietrich was a child, and a lifelong cache of letters from famous lovers and friends. How many diaries Riva has is not clear, although she quotes from nearly 80 years' worth (Dietrich, born in 1901, died in Paris in 1992). Riva isn't restrained about her mother's love life or bisexuality--nor was Dietrich closemouthed about her affairs, which were numerous and carried on with the high and mighty. Riva also tells of Dietrich's addiction to suppositories, especially a potent hypnotic she called her ``Fernando Lamas'' (after ``the most boring man in Hollywood''). To go from the belle of Berlin in the 1920's to her final days as a legend crystallized in mystery was no short trip, and Riva pulls no punches about Marlene's alcoholic self-imprisonment in bed: ``Her legs withered. Her hair, chopped short haphazardly in drunken frenzies with cuticle scissors, painted with dyes--iodized pink between dirty white blotches....The teeth...have blackened and cracked. Her left eye, dulled by a cataract she refuses to have treated. Her once translucent skin is parchment. She exudes an odor of booze and human decay.'' Rich period backgrounds and Dietrich's voice throughout support the impassioned honesty of Riva's re-creation.

I am reasonably interested in Marlene Dietrich but this biography written by her daughter was just too long and detailed, so I didn't finish it.

Also, it rather turned me off this star. She was extremly possessive of her daughter and didn't want her to have lessons. Instead, Maria spent most of her time on set assisting her mother with costumes and advice. Dietrich was also bad-tempered and inclined to put Maria down. She gave her an enjoyable childhood in some ways, but I also got the impression that the oddness of Maria's experiences understandably embittered her for life. For example, Dietrich's husband's mistress lived with them in the same house much of the time and Dietrich would discuss her lovers with her husband! It's probably not strange for Hollywood but it would be hard to come to terms with such a difficult upbringing



I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

I’m in love with the Golden Age of Hollywood and Marlene Dietrich is one of the best. I learned a lot about her life and I can’t recommend this enough to any Old Hollywood fans.

A fascinating look into the life of Marlene Dietrich. It is a must read for every movie fan . I learned a lot about her life and difficulties in the movie industry as a woman and her family life. She was iconic and this book is very respectful to her life.
This is very well documented and the research is exemplary. A very enjoyable read. A great addition to any fan's library .


Thank you for the ARC which did not influence my review .

An in depth look into the life of Marlene Dietrich. How she was with family, friends, lovers, and as an actress. She wasn't afraid to be who she was, and what she stood for. She has many strange idiosyncrasies, and habits but altogether they made her who she was.
Interesting facts about what made her such a great actress.

When I have to review a book that I don’t especially care for, I do my best to spotlight any and all positives before sharing what I didn’t enjoy; what I liked about the storyline, the characters, the writing and so forth. Why? Because the author poured blood, sweat and tears into that book and I, for one, am not going to rip that apart. And so, while I am still going to try to stick with that formula for this book, I feel that this will be the first honest-to-goodness negative review I have really written.

Because when you write a biography about someone, and decide to be small while doing it…well, that’s a tad more difficult to be positive about. But, for the sake of being kind, let’s try.

It was so fun to get a peek into parts of Marlene Dietrich’s life that we aren’t usually privy to, such as excerpts from her diary. (She named her diary, y’all. I am SO going to name my journal now. I’m thinking Sven. Björn? Finn!) I enjoyed these glimpses into her childhood and family life. But that is where the enjoyment ended. The rest of the book felt like Maria Riva’s attempts to be…well, small!

So, so, so (painfully, so) much of the book was an odd attempt at turning the spotlight onto the author herself. And the rest of the book was unorganized, tedious, poorly written and…to be honest…downright cruel in places. I don’t know if the author is tired of not being in the spotlight herself, or carries around some innate jealousy towards her mother. But many of her comments were cringe-worthy. This book, instead of being enjoyable, left me with a sour taste in my mouth towards the author, and that’s putting it nicely.

Bottom Line: Go to Amazon, type in “Marlene Dietrich,” close your eyes and point to the screen. Buy that one, instead of this one.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read Marlene Dietrich by Maria Riva.
Marlene Dietrich is a hollywood idol who was ahead of her time. I found this book to be more about the writer, her daughter and her experiences.
Interesting book. Not sure it captured who Marlene was in full.
Good Reading if you like "old hollywood".

An excess of filial piety, where it has not completely wrecked, has often severely skewed, a son or daughter’s biography of a parent. Winston Churchill’s two-volume life of Lord Randolph Churchill, is a case in point. Conversely, a lack of affection for a parent can result in a damaging stream of vitriol; the classic instance is ‘Mommie Dearest’ by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of Joan Crawford, which makes it impossible ever to look at that actress – or wire hangers – in quite the same way again.

‘Marlene Dietrich. The Life’ by her daughter Maria Riva manages to steer a middle course between the Scylla of uncritical adoration and the Charybdis of unfeeling execration but in one fundamental respect it is less satisfactory, namely, the author’s penchant not only for imagining what people (such as her grandparents) said but even what they thought:

“Josephine looked down at this perfect being at her breast, and the passion she felt for the man who had created it transferred itself to his child. She felt it like a raging force leaving her body. With this new love, twin to the old, came a terrible fear, an inexplicable haunting: Could the child have inherited the father’s appetites? Would she, too, find facility in hurting those who loved her? She vowed to guard her, if necessary even from herself. Josephine named her new daughter [the future Marlene Dietrich] Maria Magdalena.”

Fortunately, in addition to her personal recollections Riva has access to Marlene’s letters and the diary, which she kept from her tenth year, to curb her wilder flights of fancy and enable her to provide an intimate account of her mother’s public and private life. As such there are fascinating insights not only into the personality of Marlene herself but also into those with whom she worked and/or socialized, including Josef von Sternberg, John Gilbert, Ernest Lubitsch, David Selznick, Irving Thalberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Harold Arlen, Billy Wilder and many other celebrities of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

The book is very candid not only in detailing Marlene’s affairs with members of both sexes but also quoting her many barbed comments about those whom she disliked or considered overrated. Her daughter has all of her mother’s candour and her picture of Marlene’s declining years, with their drunkenness, debt and mental and physical decay, are unsparing.

Riva’s book was first published in 1993, the year after her mother’s death and a flurry of books on Dietrich by Donald Spoto, Steven Bach and Homer Dickens respectively. Marlene Dietrich retains her iconic status as actress, singer and bisexual sex symbol and Maria Riva’s biography of her mother, despite its flaws, retains its importance as a fascinating document chronicling an extraordinary talent and life.