Annette Kellerman
Encyclopedia
Annette Marie Sarah Kellerman (6 July 1886 – 6 November 1975) was an Australia
n professional swimmer, vaudeville
and film
star, and writer. She was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume and inspired others to follow her example.
She is often credited for inventing the sport of synchronised swimming after her 1907 performance of the first water ballet in a glass tank at the New York Hippodrome
. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
.
Kellerman was born in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia
, on 6 July 1886, to Australian-born violinist Frederick William Kellerman and his French
wife, Alice Ellen Charbonnet, a pianist and music teacher.
At the age of 6, a weakness in Kellerman's legs necessitated the wearing of painful steel braces to strengthen them. In order to further overcome her disability
, her parents enrolled her in swim classes at Cavill's baths in Sydney. By the age of 13, her legs were practically normal, and by 15, she had mastered all the swimming strokes and won her first race. At this time she was also giving diving
displays.
In 1902, Kellerman decided to take her swimming seriously and subsequently won the ladies' 100 yards and mile championships of New South Wales
in the record times of 1 minute, 22 seconds and 33 minutes, 49 seconds respectively. In that same year, her parents decided to move to Melbourne, and she was enrolled at Mentone Girls' Grammar School
where her mother had accepted a music teaching position.
During her time at school, Kellerman gave exhibitions of swimming and diving at the main Melbourne baths, performed a mermaid act at Princes Court entertainment centre and did two shows a day swimming with fish in a glass tank at the Exhibition Aquarium. In June–July 1903 she performed sensational high dives in the Coogee scene of Bland Holt's spectacular, The Breaking of the Drought, at the Melbourne Theatre Royal.
On 24 August 1905, aged 18, Annette Kellerman was the first woman to attempt to swim the English Channel
. After three unsuccessful swims she declared, "I had the endurance but not the brute strength."
Kellerman was famous for advocating the right of women to wear a one-piece bathing suit, which was controversial at the time. According to an Australian magazine, "In the early 1900s, women were expected to wear cumbersome dress and pantaloon combinations when swimming. In 1907, at the height of her popularity, Kellerman was arrested on Revere Beach, Massachusetts, for indecency - she was wearing one of her fitted one-piece costumes."
The popularity of her one-piece suits resulted in her own line of women's swimwear. The "Annette Kellermans", as they were known, were the first step to modern swimwear.
In 1908, after a study of 3000 women, Dr Dudley A. Sargent of Harvard University
dubbed her the Perfect Woman because of the similarity of her physical attributes to the Venus de Milo
.
.
. Made by Fox Film Corporation, Daughter of the Gods was the first million-dollar film production. Like many of Kellerman's other films, this is now considered a lost film
as no copies are known to exist.
The majority of Kellerman's films had themes of aquatic adventure. She performed her own stunts including diving from ninety-two feet into the sea and sixty feet into a pool of crocodiles. Many times she would play mermaids named Annette or variations of her own name. Her "fairy tale films", as she called them, started with The Mermaid (1911
), in which she was the first actress to wear a swimmable mermaid costume on film, paving the way for future screen sirens such as Glynis Johns
(Miranda
), Esther Williams
and Daryl Hannah
(Splash
). She designed her own mermaid swimming costumes and sometimes made them herself. Similar designs are still used by The Weeki Wachee Springs
Mermaids, including her aquatic fairy costume first introduced in Queen of the Sea (1918
).
Kellerman appeared in one of the last films made in Prizma Color
, Venus of the South Seas
(1924
), a U.S./New Zealand co-production where one reel of the 55-minute film was in color and underwater. Venus of the South Seas was restored by the Library of Congress
in 2004 and is the only feature film starring Annette Kellerman known to exist in its complete form.
in Long Beach, California
. She and her husband returned to live in Australia in 1970, and in 1974 she was honoured by the International Swimming Hall of Fame at Fort Lauderdale, Florida
. She remained active well into old age continuing to swim and exercise until a short time before her death.
Preceded by her husband in death, Annette Kellerman died in hospital at Southport, Queensland, Australia
, on 5 November 1975, aged 88 and was cremated with Roman Catholic rites. Her remains were scattered in the Great Barrier Reef
. She had no children.
. Today, many of her original costumes and personal items are held by the Powerhouse Museum
in Sydney, Australia.
She was portrayed by Esther Williams
in the film Million Dollar Mermaid
(1952). Her name is on a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
, on Hollywood Boulevard
.
An award-winning Australian documentary called The Original Mermaid about Annette Kellerman was produced in 2002.
A brand new swimming complex in Marrickville opened December 2010 has been named after her.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n professional swimmer, vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
star, and writer. She was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume and inspired others to follow her example.
She is often credited for inventing the sport of synchronised swimming after her 1907 performance of the first water ballet in a glass tank at the New York Hippodrome
New York Hippodrome
The Hippodrome Theatre, also called the New York Hippodrome, was a theatre in New York City from 1905 to 1939, located on Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan. It was called the world's largest theatre by its builders and had a seating capacity of...
. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
.
Early life
Darlinghurst, New South Wales
Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney...
, on 6 July 1886, to Australian-born violinist Frederick William Kellerman and his French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
wife, Alice Ellen Charbonnet, a pianist and music teacher.
At the age of 6, a weakness in Kellerman's legs necessitated the wearing of painful steel braces to strengthen them. In order to further overcome her disability
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
, her parents enrolled her in swim classes at Cavill's baths in Sydney. By the age of 13, her legs were practically normal, and by 15, she had mastered all the swimming strokes and won her first race. At this time she was also giving diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
displays.
In 1902, Kellerman decided to take her swimming seriously and subsequently won the ladies' 100 yards and mile championships of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in the record times of 1 minute, 22 seconds and 33 minutes, 49 seconds respectively. In that same year, her parents decided to move to Melbourne, and she was enrolled at Mentone Girls' Grammar School
Mentone Girls' Grammar School
Mentone Girls' Grammar School is an independent, Anglican day school for girls, located in Mentone, a bayside suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
where her mother had accepted a music teaching position.
During her time at school, Kellerman gave exhibitions of swimming and diving at the main Melbourne baths, performed a mermaid act at Princes Court entertainment centre and did two shows a day swimming with fish in a glass tank at the Exhibition Aquarium. In June–July 1903 she performed sensational high dives in the Coogee scene of Bland Holt's spectacular, The Breaking of the Drought, at the Melbourne Theatre Royal.
Swimming career
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. After three unsuccessful swims she declared, "I had the endurance but not the brute strength."
Kellerman was famous for advocating the right of women to wear a one-piece bathing suit, which was controversial at the time. According to an Australian magazine, "In the early 1900s, women were expected to wear cumbersome dress and pantaloon combinations when swimming. In 1907, at the height of her popularity, Kellerman was arrested on Revere Beach, Massachusetts, for indecency - she was wearing one of her fitted one-piece costumes."
The popularity of her one-piece suits resulted in her own line of women's swimwear. The "Annette Kellermans", as they were known, were the first step to modern swimwear.
In 1908, after a study of 3000 women, Dr Dudley A. Sargent of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
dubbed her the Perfect Woman because of the similarity of her physical attributes to the Venus de Milo
Venus de Milo
Aphrodite of Milos , better known as the Venus de Milo, is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. Created at some time between 130 and 100 BC, it is believed to depict Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love and beauty. It is a marble sculpture, slightly...
.
Marriage
Kellerman married her American-born manager, James Raymond Louis Sullivan, on or around 26 November 1912 at Danbury, ConnecticutDanbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....
.
Movie career
In 1916, Kellerman became the first major actress to do a nude scene when she appeared fully nude in A Daughter of the GodsA Daughter of the Gods
A Daughter of the Gods is a silent film that featured Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman.The film was controversial because of the sequences of what was regarded as superfluous nudity by the main character, Nydia, played by Kellerman...
. Made by Fox Film Corporation, Daughter of the Gods was the first million-dollar film production. Like many of Kellerman's other films, this is now considered a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
as no copies are known to exist.
The majority of Kellerman's films had themes of aquatic adventure. She performed her own stunts including diving from ninety-two feet into the sea and sixty feet into a pool of crocodiles. Many times she would play mermaids named Annette or variations of her own name. Her "fairy tale films", as she called them, started with The Mermaid (1911
1911 in film
The year 1911 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 23: D.W Griffith shows the first major close-up shot on film with the successful release of The Lonedale Operator proving his ever growing mastery of how to utilise film....
), in which she was the first actress to wear a swimmable mermaid costume on film, paving the way for future screen sirens such as Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
(Miranda
Miranda (1948 film)
Miranda is a 1948 British comedy film, directed by Ken Annakin and written by Peter Blackmore, who also wrote the play of the same name from which the film was adapted. Denis Waldock provided additional dialogue. A light comedy, the film is about a beautiful and playful mermaid played by Glynis...
), Esther Williams
Esther Williams
Esther Jane Williams is a retired American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star.Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team...
and Daryl Hannah
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
(Splash
Splash (film)
Splash is a 1984 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Ron Howard and written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The original music score was composed by Lee Holdridge...
). She designed her own mermaid swimming costumes and sometimes made them herself. Similar designs are still used by The Weeki Wachee Springs
Weeki Wachee Springs
Weeki Wachee Springs is a natural tourist attraction located in Weeki Wachee, Florida, where underwater performances by "mermaids", women dressed with fins about their legs as well as other fancy outfits, can be viewed in an aquarium-like setting in the spring of the Weeki Wachee River...
Mermaids, including her aquatic fairy costume first introduced in Queen of the Sea (1918
1918 in film
The year 1918 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Following litigation for anti-trust activities, the US Supreme Court orders the Motion Picture Patents Company to disband....
).
Kellerman appeared in one of the last films made in Prizma Color
Prizma
The Prizma Color system was a technique of color motion picture photography, invented in 1913 by William Van Doren Kelley and Charles Raleigh. Initially, it was a two-color additive color system, similar to its predecessor, Kinemacolor...
, Venus of the South Seas
Venus of the South Seas
Venus of the South Seas is a feature film starring swimmer Annette Kellerman and one of the last films made in the Prizmacolor process....
(1924
1924 in film
-Events:* Entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures to create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
), a U.S./New Zealand co-production where one reel of the 55-minute film was in color and underwater. Venus of the South Seas was restored by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in 2004 and is the only feature film starring Annette Kellerman known to exist in its complete form.
Publications
In addition to her film and stage career, Kellerman wrote several books including How To Swim (1918), Physical Beauty: How to Keep It (1919), a book of children's stories titled Fairy Tales of the South Seas (1926) and My Story, an unpublished autobiography. She also wrote numerous mail order booklets on health, beauty and fitness.Later life
A lifelong vegetarian, Kellerman owned a health food storeHealth food store
A health food store is a type of grocery store that primarily sells health food, organic foods, local produce, and often nutritional supplements...
in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. She and her husband returned to live in Australia in 1970, and in 1974 she was honoured by the International Swimming Hall of Fame at Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. She remained active well into old age continuing to swim and exercise until a short time before her death.
Preceded by her husband in death, Annette Kellerman died in hospital at Southport, Queensland, Australia
Southport, Queensland
-Sport:The Southport Sharks Australian rules football club has a presence in the area, including a club and function centre.-Transport:The Broadwaterway is a foreshoreway that encourages pedestrians and cyclists to travel along the Broadwater foreshores of Southport.A ferry terminal is planned for...
, on 5 November 1975, aged 88 and was cremated with Roman Catholic rites. Her remains were scattered in the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
. She had no children.
Legacy
Kellerman's large collection of costumes and theatrical memorabilia was bequeathed to the Sydney Opera HouseSydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
. Today, many of her original costumes and personal items are held by the Powerhouse Museum
Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, the other being the historic Sydney Observatory...
in Sydney, Australia.
She was portrayed by Esther Williams
Esther Williams
Esther Jane Williams is a retired American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star.Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team...
in the film Million Dollar Mermaid
Million Dollar Mermaid
Million Dollar Mermaid is a 1952 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer biographical musical film of the life of Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Arthur Hornblow Jr. from a screenplay by Everett Freeman. The music score was by Adolph Deutsch, the...
(1952). Her name is on a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
, on Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
.
An award-winning Australian documentary called The Original Mermaid about Annette Kellerman was produced in 2002.
A brand new swimming complex in Marrickville opened December 2010 has been named after her.
Filmography
- The Bride of Lammermoor: A Tragedy of Bonnie Scotland (1909)
- Jephtah's Daughter: A Biblical Tragedy (1909)
- The Gift of Youth (1909)
- Entombed Alive (1909)
- Siren of the Sea (1911)
- The Mermaid (1911)
- Neptune's DaughterNeptune's Daughter (1914 film)Neptune's Daughter is a 1914 American silent fantasy film featuring the first collaboration between actress Annette Kellerman and director Herbert Brenon. It was filmed by Universal on Bermuda, cost US$35,000 to make, and grossed one million dollars at the box office...
(1914) - A Daughter of the GodsA Daughter of the GodsA Daughter of the Gods is a silent film that featured Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman.The film was controversial because of the sequences of what was regarded as superfluous nudity by the main character, Nydia, played by Kellerman...
(1916) - National Red Cross Pageant (1917)
- Queen of the Sea (1918)
- What Women Love (1920)
- Venus of the South SeasVenus of the South SeasVenus of the South Seas is a feature film starring swimmer Annette Kellerman and one of the last films made in the Prizmacolor process....
(1924)
As herself
- Miss Kellerman's Diving Feats (1907)
- Miss Annette Kellerman (1909)
- The Perfectly Formed Woman (1910)
- The Universal Boy (1914/I)
- The Art of Diving (1920)
- Annette Kellerman Performing Water Ballet (1925)
- Annette Kellerman Returns to Australia (1933)
- Water Ballet: Sydney (1940)
- Water Ballet (1941)
External links
- Annette Kellerman Costume Collection at the Powerhouse Museum
- Hollywood Star Walk for Annette
- AnnetteKellerman.com
- ADB biography
- Article & Photo used in crucial trial on decency between Esquire and the Postmaster General
- Photo on the beach
- Photo: Head Profile circa 1926
- Photo: Face
- Article: Scroll Down to article on Neptune's Daughter and other of her lost films
- Annette Kellerman photo gallery at NYP Library
- Christine Schmidt, Second Skin: Annette Kellerman, the modern swimsuit, and an Australian contribution to global fashion, Queensland University of TechnologyQueensland University of TechnologyQueensland University of Technology is an Australian university with an applied emphasis in courses and research. Based in Brisbane, it has 40,000 students, including 6,000 international students, over 4,000 staff members, and an annual budget of more than A$750 million.QUT is marketed as "A...
PhD thesis, 2008. - 1923 passport photo , Annette Kellerman
