Listen free for 30 days

Preview

  • Marlene Dietrich

  • The Life
  • Written by: Maria Riva
  • Narrated by: Christa Lewis
  • Length: 33 hrs and 32 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (4 ratings)

Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Marlene Dietrich

Written by: Maria Riva
Narrated by: Christa Lewis
Try for $0.00

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $38.97

Buy Now for $38.97

Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

With intimate detail, author Maria Riva reveals the rich life of her mother, Marlene Dietrich, the charismatic star of stage and screen whose career spanned much of the 20th century. Opening with Dietrich's childhood in Schöneberg, Riva's biography introduces us to an energetic, disciplined, and ambitious young actress whose own mother equated show business with a world of vagabonds and thieves.

Dietrich would quickly rise to stardom on the Berlin stage in the 1920s with her sharp wit and bisexual mystique, and wearing the top hat and tails that revolutionized our concept of beauty and femininity. She comes alive in these pages in all her incarnations: muse, collaborator, bona fide movie star, box-office poison, lover, wife, and mother.

During World War II, Dietrich would stand up to the Nazis and galvanize American troops, eventually earning the Congressional Medal of Freedom. There were her artistic relationships with Josef von Sternberg (The Blue Angel, Morocco, Shanghai Express), Colette, Erich Maria Remarque, Noël Coward, and Cole Porter, as well as her heady romances. And in her final years, Dietrich would make herself visibly invisible, devoting herself to the immortality of her legend.
©2017 Maria Riva (P)2020 Tantor
Entertainment & Celebrities Film & TV Women Celebrity Morocco
Show more Show less
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Marlene Dietrich

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.ca reviews

Amazon Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Roberta W

Holy moly

Oh what a larger than life woman! While the first half of her life was what I might have expected, it ultimately became bizarre. Definitely an unconventional life. It’s hard to say at what point she lost touch with reality, but she lived in her own world. Exceptionally well written by her daughter, and Marlene’s brilliance was revealed, as well as her foibles. Well narrated, especially as the voice changed between mother (Marlene) and daughter. A very long listen, but kept my attention.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Anonymous User

INCREDIBLE!

A finely crafted biography on Marlene Dietrich! Very engrossing and immersive. Maria Riva’s words paint a vivid picture sentence after sentence, it’s as if you’ve lived her life.

Will re-listen to it again in the future!

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!