Annette Kellerman

Annette Kellerman

Born: July 6, 1887
Died: November 5, 1975
in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Australian-born swimming champion and actress, she played a significant role in the popularization of swimming as a sport, especially for women. Also known as "The Million Dollar Mermaid". Born Annette Marie Sarah Kellerman in Sydney, Australia, on July 6, 1886; died in Southport, Queensland, Australia, on the 6th November 1975; married James R. Sullivan (her manager), in 1912.

She suffered from a form of Poliomyelitis that had left her partially crippled as a child. She had to wear an iron brace up to her hips. Her father pushed her to swim as a therapeutic means of overcoming this condition. Her legs were normal by the time she was 13 as a result. She began swimming competions while still a teenager and won the New South Wales swimming championships in 1902. She went to England in 1904 with her father and she won a 26-mile race on the Thames.

With her brother as manager, came to U.S. and made first public appearance (1907); made first film, a kind of documentary, as early as 1909, and her last just before the end of the silent era; a champion swimmer, recognized health authority, and exponent of physical culture, was the first woman swimmer to achieve acclaim; is said to have devised the idea of formation swimming as an art, is credited with having introduced the single-piece swimsuit (even arrested for indecent exposure for wearing it) and did much to facilitate the entry of women into the aquatic sports by gradually making acceptable the kind of minimal swimwear necessary to allow freedom of movement and speed in the water; retired to her native Australia (1935). Awards: Holder of the world record for the two-, five- and ten-minute swimming championships.

She was also the first woman to appear fully nude in a movie; "A Daughter of the Gods" (1916).

Movies for Annette Kellerman...

Harvest
Title: Harvest
Released: February 16, 2011
Type: Movie
Breathtaking in its subtle beauty, Harvest is an achingly romantic tale of an innocent but ever increasingly passionate affair that develops between two simple farmhands. Life on a farm is all that sullen teen Marco knows- leading a perfunctory and quiet life of working, going to school and avoiding the advances of girls. However, his self-imposed solitude ends when curly-haired Jakob, rejecting the banking world for farming, arrives to train on the farm. Although initially cautious and tentative with each other, it is soon obvious that the unspoken sexual tension is becoming increasingly hard to resist - something a spontaneous trip to Berlin. Proving that true love can blossom in even the most unlikely of places, Harvest is as rich and rewarding as it is heart-warming.
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The Original Mermaid
Title: The Original Mermaid
Character: Herself (archive footage)
Released: February 20, 2002
Type: Movie
Story of Annette Kellerman, the international swimming vaudeville and silent screen star whose life story inspired the MGM classic Million Dollar Mermaid starring Esther Williams, which featured lavish Busby Berkeley scenes.
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The Love Goddesses
Title: The Love Goddesses
Character: (archive footage)
Released: March 3, 1965
Type: Movie
This insightful documentary features some of the major and most beautiful actresses to grace the silver screen. It shows how the movie industry changed its depiction of sex and actresses' portrayal of sex from the silent movie era to the present. Classic scenes are shown from the silent movie 'True Heart Susie,' starring Lillian Gish, to 'Love Me Tonight' (1932), blending sex and sophistication, starring Jeanette MacDonald (pre-Nelson Eddy), and to Elizabeth Taylor in 'A Place in the Sun' (1951), plus much , much more.
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Venus of the South Seas
Title: Venus of the South Seas
Character: Shona Royale
Released: February 1, 1924
Type: Movie
The daughter of man who owns a South Seas pearl business falls in love with a wealthy traveler. Her father dies, leaving her the business. A greedy ship captain schemes to take the business from her.
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Queen of the Sea
Title: Queen of the Sea
Character: Merrilla, Queen of the Sea
Released: September 1, 1918
Type: Movie
Annette Kellerman, the Australian swimming star of the early 1900s, made a number of films, most of them in the 1910s, which displayed her athletic skills. Most of these films were underwater fantasies, and this one was no exception. Here, Kellerman is Merilla, a mermaid who is the "Queen of the Sea." Not satisfied with being a mermaid, she wants a mortal human body with an immortal soul. She discovers she can achieve this if she saves four human lives.
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National Red Cross Pageant
Title: National Red Cross Pageant
Character: The Mediterranean - Italian episode
Released: December 1, 1917
Type: Movie
The National Red Cross Pageant (1917) was an American war pageant that was performed in order to sell war bonds, support the National Red Cross, and promote a positive opinion about American involvement in World War I.
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A Daughter of the Gods
Title: A Daughter of the Gods
Character: Anitia
Released: October 16, 1916
Type: Movie
A sultan agrees to help an evil witch destroy a mysterious beauty if the witch will bring his young son back to life.
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Neptune's Daughter
Title: Neptune's Daughter
Character: Annette, Neptune's daughter
Released: April 25, 1914
Type: Movie
The daughter of King Neptune takes on human form to avenge the death of her young sister, who was caught in a fishing net. However, she falls in love with the king, the man she holds responsible.
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Siren of the Sea
Title: Siren of the Sea
Character: Siren of the Sea
Released: January 1, 1911
Type: Movie
Fantasy short starring Annette Kellerman as a Siren.
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The Bride of Lammermoor
Title: The Bride of Lammermoor
Character: Lucy Ashton
Released: June 17, 1909
Type: Movie
Sir Walter Scott adaptation, existing in fragmentary form in the Library of Congress paper print collections.
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Jephtah's Daughter: A Biblical Tragedy
Title: Jephtah's Daughter: A Biblical Tragedy
Character: Jephtah's Daughter
Released: May 22, 1909
Type: Movie
Early short film dramatizing the biblical story of Jephthah (Judges 11).