Annette Kellerman - Wikipedia

Annette Kellerman - Wikipedia
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Australian swimmer, vaudeville star, film actress and writer (1886–1975)
Annette Kellerman
Kellermann in her famous one-piece bathing suit,
c.
1906
Born
Annette Marie Sarah Kellermann
1886-07-06
6 July 1886
Marrickville, New South Wales
, Australia
Died
6 November 1975
(1975-11-06)
(aged 89)
Southport, Queensland
, Australia
Resting place
Great Barrier Reef
Occupations
Swimmer, actress, writer
Known for
Swimmer, actress, writer, Inventor of Synchronised Swimming, Pioneer of women's swimwear
Spouse
James Raymond Louis Sullivan
m.
1912⁠–⁠1972)
Parent(s)
Alice Charbonnet-Kellermann
Frederick William Kellermann
Honours
Victorian Honour Roll of Women
, 2001
Annette Marie Sarah Kellermann
(6 July 1886 – 6 November 1975)
was an Australian professional swimmer,
vaudeville
star, film actress, and writer, usually spelt with a single final
as
Annette Kellerman
Kellermann was one of the first women to wear a
one-piece bathing costume
, instead of the then-accepted
pantaloons
, and inspired others to follow her example. Kellerman's swimming costumes became so popular that she started her own fashion line of one-piece bathing suits. Kellermann helped popularise the sport of
synchronised swimming
, and authored a swimming manual. She appeared in several movies, usually with aquatic themes, and as the star of the 1916 film
A Daughter of the Gods
was the first major actress to
appear nude
in a Hollywood production. Kellermann was an advocate of health, fitness, and natural beauty throughout her life.
Early life
edit
Annette Kellermann was born in
Marrickville, New South Wales
, Australia, on 6 July 1886,
to Australian-born violinist Frederick William Kellermann, and his French wife,
Alice Ellen Charbonnet
, a pianist and music teacher.
At the age of six, a weakness in Kellermann's legs necessitated the wearing of steel braces to strengthen them. To further overcome her
disability
, her parents enrolled her in swimming classes at Cavill's Baths, a tidal swimming pool in the North Sydney suburb of
Lavender Bay
. 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.
Swimming career
edit
Annette Kellermann, early 1900s
In 1902, Kellermann 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
Victoria
, and she was enrolled at
Mentone Girls' Grammar School
, where her mother had accepted a music teaching position.
During her time at school, Kellermann 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 and 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.
Kellermann and
Beatrice Kerr
, who was billed as "Australia's Champion Lady Swimmer and Diver", were rivals, although Kerr's public challenges to Kellermann to meet in a competitive race went unanswered.
On 24 August 1905, aged 19, Kellermann was one of the first women to attempt to
swim across the English Channel
A Dover ship pilot said Kellermann was not permitted to swim any further on her attempts, despite his opinion being that she could have kept going for much longer.
After three unsuccessful swims she declared, "I had the endurance but not the brute strength." The first woman to attempt a Channel crossing had been Austrian Baroness
Walburga von Isacescu
, in September 1900.
She had made a previous effort the month before alongside
Ted Heaton
, but had to leave the water several miles out in the channel due to sea-sickness.
Kellermann later challenged and defeated von Isacescu in a
Danube
race.
While in London a short film was shot of her performances and shown in Australian venues.
In 1911, she appeared on
Broadway
in the title role of "Undine", an
aquacade
specialty conceived by composer
Manuel Klein
and performed in repertory with the popular musical
Vera Violetta
that featured
Al Jolson
Kellermann performed a water ballet in a glass tank at the
New York Hippodrome
in 1917.
10
Swimwear line
edit
Kellermann advocated for the right of women to wear a one-piece bathing suit, which was controversial at the time.
11
According to an Australian magazine, "In the early 1900s, women were expected to wear cumbersome dress and pantaloon combinations when swimming." Although Kellermann later claimed to have been arrested at
Revere Beach
for public indecency while wearing one of her suits, there are no contemporary police records or news stories corroborating this, and she appears to have invented the incident.
12
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 towards modern women's swimwear.
Film career
edit
Kellermann and Hugh Thompson in
Queen of the Sea
In 1916, Kellermann became the first major actress to perform in a nude scene when she appeared fully nude in
A Daughter of the Gods
13
14
Made by
Fox Film Corporation
A Daughter of the Gods
was the first million-dollar film production. Like many of Kellermann's other films, this is now considered a
lost film
, as no copies are known to exist.
Kellermann in nude scene from
A Daughter of the Gods
The majority of Kellermann's films had themes of aquatic adventure. She performed her own stunts including diving from 92 feet (28 m) into the sea and 60 feet (18 m) 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
Esther Williams
Glynis Johns
Miranda
, 1948),
Ann Blyth
Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid
, 1948) and
Daryl Hannah
Splash
, 1984). Kellermann 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, another lost film).
Kellermann appeared in one of the last films made in
Prizma Color
Venus of the South Seas
(1924), a US/New Zealand co-production where one reel of the 55-minute film was in colour and underwater.
Venus of the South Seas
was restored by the
Library of Congress
in 2004 and is the only feature film starring Kellermann known to exist in its complete form.
Publications
edit
In addition to her film and stage career, Kellermann 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 called The Body Beautiful.
15
Personal life
edit
Kellermann in her full-length swimwear
Kellermann married her American-born manager, James Sullivan, on or around 26 November 1912 at
Danbury, Connecticut
A life-long
vegetarian
, later in life Kellermann owned a
health food store
in
Long Beach, California
She remained active well into old age, continuing to swim and exercise until a short time before her death. 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.
Kellermann outlived her husband and died in the hospital at
Southport, Queensland
, Australia, on 6 November 1975,
16
aged 89. She was cremated with
Roman Catholic
rites. Her remains were scattered in the
Great Barrier Reef
. She had no children.
Legacy
edit
Venus of the South Seas poster
In 1908, after a study of 3,000 women,
Dudley A. Sargent
of
Harvard University
dubbed Kellerman the "Perfect Woman" because of the similarity of her physical attributes to the
Venus de Milo
17
During her Fox film series, she was often billed as 'Australia's Perfect Woman.'
18
Kellermann's large collection of costumes and theatrical memorabilia was bequeathed to the
Sydney Opera House
Today, many of her original costumes and personal items are held by the
Powerhouse Museum
in Sydney, Australia.
19
The
Mitchell collection, State Library of New South Wales
holds Kellerman's archive of personal papers.
20
The American thoroughbred mare Annette K. (foaled in 1921 out of the mare Bathing Girl) was named after her. Annette K. became the grandam of U.S. Triple Crown winner
War Admiral
21
22
Kellerman was portrayed by
Esther Williams
in the film
Million Dollar Mermaid
(1952), and her name is on a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
, on
Hollywood Boulevard
The Original Mermaid
, an award-winning Australian documentary about Kellermann, was released in 2002.
A swimming complex which opened in December 2010 in
Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia
is named after her.
23
The streets in the suburb of
Holt
in the Australian capital
Canberra
are all named after Australian sportspeople, and Kellermann Close was named for her.
In 2016, X Swimwear, a made-to-measure swimwear line, launched a custom swimsuit called "The Kellerman" after her.
24
For her efforts advocating for women's swimming and bathing suit reform, Kellerman has been described as a
swimming suffragist
25
Filmography
edit
Kellermann photographed in the United States, 1907
The Bride of Lammermoor: A Tragedy of Bonnie Scotland
(1909, Short)
Jephtah's Daughter: A Biblical Tragedy
(1909, Short) - Jepthah's Daughter
The Gift of Youth
(1909, Short)
Entombed Alive
(1909, Short)
The Mermaid
(1911, Short) - Mermaid
Siren of the Sea
(1911, Short) - Siren of the Sea
Neptune's Daughter
(1914) - Annette, Neptune's daughter
A Daughter of the Gods
(1916) - Anitia - Daughter of the Gods
National Red Cross Pageant
(1917) - The Mediterranean - Italian episode
Queen of the Sea
(1918) - Merrilla, Queen of the Sea
What Women Love
(1920) - Annabel Cotton
Venus of the South Seas
(1924) - Shona Royale (final film role)
As herself
edit
Miss Kellerman's Diving Feats
(1907, Documentary short)
Miss Annette Kellerman
(1909, Documentary short)
The Perfectly Formed Woman
(1910, Short)
The Universal Boy
(1914)
The Art of Diving
(1920, Documentary short)
Annette Kellermann Performing Water Ballet
(1925, Documentary short)
Annette Kellermann Returns to Australia
(1933, Documentary short)
Water Ballet: Sydney
(1940, Short)
Water Ballet
(1941, Short)
Archival footage
edit
The Love Goddesses
(1965)
The Original Mermaid
(2002)
Annette Kellerman in a clip from the 1924 film
Venus of the South Seas
Books
edit
How to Swim
26
Physical Beauty, How to Keep It
27
See also
edit
List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
References
edit
Walsh, G. P (1983).
"Annette Marie Kellermann (1886–1975)"
Australian Dictionary of Biography
. Vol. 9. National Centre of Biography,
Australian National University
ISBN
978-0-522-84459-7
ISSN
1833-7538
OCLC
70677943
. Archived from
the original
on 9 November 2010
. Retrieved
15 June
2007
"Annette Kellerman"
State Government of Victoria
. 27 May 2022
. Retrieved
8 March
2025
Nelson, Judy (2005).
"Kerr, Beatrice Maude (1887–1971)"
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Supplementary Volume; Kerr, Beatrice Maude (1887–1971)
. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
Archived
from the original on 5 March 2016
. Retrieved
22 October
2012
Bohn, Michael (2009).
Heroes & Ballyhoo: How the Golden Age of the 1920s Transformed American Sports
. Potomac Books Inc.
ISBN
9781597976091
Archived
from the original on 9 December 2020
. Retrieved
12 October
2020
"The Channel Swim"
Poverty Bay Herald
. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 12581. 11 October 1911. p. 8
. Retrieved
14 September
2024
"Cross-channel swim - Double attempt ends in failure"
The Newcastle Daily Chronicle
. 27 July 1905. p. 7.
"Great Swim in the Danube"
The Week
(Friday 22 June 1906). 22 June 1906.
Archived
from the original on 9 December 2020
. Retrieved
1 May
2017
Reade, Eric (1970).
Australian Silent Films, A Pictorial History 1896-1929,
Lansdowne Press, Melbourne, p. 28.
Kellermann; "Undine" entries,
IBDB
.com
"Kellermann for Hippodrome"
The New York Times
. 3 January 1917.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
15 July
2024
Reader's Digest Services, "Record-breaking swimmers",
Australia's Yesterdays: a Look at Our Recent Past
, 2nd edition, 1974 p. 193
Wilk, Stephen R.
Lost Wonderland: the Brief and Brilliant Life of Boston's Million Dollar Amusement Park
. Amherst.
ISBN
978-1-61376-803-7
OCLC
1227994036
Vagg, Stephen (12 July 2019).
"Good Sports: Australian Athletes Who Act"
Filmink
Robertson, James Crighton (1993).
The Hidden Cinema: British Film Censorship in Action, 1913–1975
. Routledge. pp.
9–
10.
ISBN
0-415-09034-2
"National Film and Sound Archive of Australia"
. 17 August 2018.
Archived
from the original on 21 September 2018
. Retrieved
21 September
2018
"Australian 'Mermaid' Annette Kellerman Swimmer and Actress"
Miami Herald
. 7 November 1975. p. 144 – via Newspapers.com.
"Modern Woman Getting Nearer The Perfect Figure – Dr. Dudley Sargent of..."
Archived
15 October 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
; 4 December 1910; Text: subject of an article on health refers to Kellermann's body as "... the most ideal figure";
Sunday Magazine
; accessed November 2015
Reade, p.94.
Annette Kellermann Costume Collection
Archived
21 June 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
; collection; Powerhouse Museum online; retrieved January 2020
"Annette Kellermann - papers, c.1870-1975"
Manuscripts Oral History and Pictures Catalogue, State Library of New South Wales
Archived
from the original on 9 December 2020
. Retrieved
5 July
2019
"Annette K Horse Pedigree"
"War Admiral Horse Pedigree"
"Annette Kellerman Aquatic Leisure Centre"
Archived
from the original on 15 March 2018
. Retrieved
19 April
2018
The Kellerman One Piece
Archived
2 December 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
, X Swimwear
Doup, Liz (7 November 2007).
"Suffragette Swimmers"
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
. Retrieved
29 September
2025
– via
newspapers.com
How to Swim
; Kellermann, Annette; Library of Congress; New York : George H. Doran Company, [1918]; Electronic copy from HathiTrust:
Electronic copy
; LCCN: 18026477; OCoLC: 2462576; ©1918; accessed 29-01-2021
Physical Beauty, How to Keep It
; Kellermann, Annette; Library of Congress; New York : George H. Doran Company, [1918]; LCCN: 08012247; LC: RA778 .K38; ©1918; Accessed 29-01-2021
External links
edit
Annette Kellerman
at
IMDb
Media related to
Annette Kellerman
at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to
Annette Kellerman
at Wikiquote
"Annette Kellermann"
at Women Film Pioneers Project
Article and photo used in indecency trial
Esquire
v.
Walker
(Postmaster General)
Annette Kellermann Online Exhibition
at
National Film and Sound Archive
Physical culture
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