Annette Kellerman

Annette Kellerman

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).

  • Title: Annette Kellerman
  • Popularity: 0.744
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1887-07-06
  • Place of Birth: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As:
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Annette Kellerman Movies

  • 1917
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    National Red Cross Pageant

    National Red Cross Pageant

    1 1917 HD

    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...

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  • 1911
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    Siren of the Sea

    Siren of the Sea

    1 1911 HD

    Fantasy short starring Annette Kellerman as a Siren.

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  • 1909
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    Jephtah's Daughter: A Biblical Tragedy

    Jephtah's Daughter: A Biblical Tragedy

    1 1909 HD

    Early short film dramatizing the biblical story of Jephthah (Judges 11).

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  • 1916
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    A Daughter of the Gods

    A Daughter of the Gods

    3.3 1916 HD

    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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  • 1924
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    Venus of the South Seas

    Venus of the South Seas

    5.5 1924 HD

    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...

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  • 1914
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    Neptune's Daughter

    Neptune's Daughter

    1 1914 HD

    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...

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  • 1918
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    Queen of the Sea

    Queen of the Sea

    5 1918 HD

    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...

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  • 1909
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    The Bride of Lammermoor

    The Bride of Lammermoor

    1 1909 HD

    Sir Walter Scott adaptation, existing in fragmentary form in the Library of Congress paper print collections.

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  • 2002
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    The Original Mermaid

    The Original Mermaid

    1 2002 HD

    Story of Annette Kellerman, the international swimming vaudeville and silent screen star whose life story inspired the MGM classic Million Dollar...

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  • 2011
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    Harvest

    Harvest

    6.2 2011 HD

    Breathtaking in its subtle beauty, Harvest is an achingly romantic tale of an innocent but ever increasingly passionate affair that develops between...

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