Anna Held was one of the first French chanteuses to become popular in America, as well as the first wife of impresario Florenz Ziegfeld. She's also the first ever "Ziegfeld Girl" starring in the original "Follies" production that was staged on the roof of a Broadway theater. Known for her beauty and charm, rumor had it she bathed in 100's of gallons of fresh milk daily to maintain her perfect complexion. And it was just rumor started by Ziegfeld, the first king of PR, but was also one of tidbits that kept the public interested and contributed to her legend.
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| scene form "The Great Ziegfeld" 1936--I highly recommend it. |
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| Louis Ranier (on the right) played her in the film |
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| still from the movie |
It's interesting to note how posing with wild animals is back in again-- which I can't really say I'm a fan of. The last place a wild animal should be is in front of a camera selling stuff-- why not use a stuffed animal or small child instead? They do make beautiful pictures, I have to admit.
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| Julianne Moore in the Bvlgari campaign |
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| Lily Donaldson on the 2011 cover of Bazaar |
Women would come to see her shows to see what she was wearing and then have her dresses copied for themselves. It can safely be said she was one of the first icons of womens fashion in America. There's just something about those French.....
omg that crazy hourglass photo! LOVE IT
ReplyDeleteWow, I had never even heard of Anna Held before, but now I really want to watch that movie! Speaking of movies, Party Girl is available for instant viewing on Netflix, and I'm definitely going to watch it when I get a chance.
ReplyDeleteAlso...there's just something so creepy about a woman posing with a big cat cub...it's so unnatural!
Its so sad how those two ended-- I heard she died young too :(
ReplyDeleteI loooved your blog :D
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