#ziegfeld

Raphael Kirchner, Ziegfeld Follies, Ziegfeld Girl, The Century Girl - The Expiation, Theatre program, 1916.

Anna Held: The Woman Who Invented Stardom

Before the Ziegfeld Follies dazzled Broadway, before the age of celebrity marketing took hold, there was Anna Held—a performer whose life blurred the line between myth and reality, and whose legacy helped shape the spectacle of American entertainment.

Born in Warsaw in 1873 to a Jewish family, Helene Anna Held fled with her parents to Paris to escape antisemitic violence. There, she cultivated a persona that would become her trademark: flirtatious, extravagant, and unapologetically theatrical. Her performances in Parisian cabarets caught the eye of Florenz Ziegfeld, a young American impresario who saw in her not just talent, but a marketing opportunity.

Ziegfeld brought Held to New York in 1896 and launched a publicity campaign that would become legendary. He claimed she bathed in milk, had ribs removed to accentuate her waist, and wore diamonds in her shoes. Whether true or not, these stories captivated the public and made Held a sensation. Her Broadway debut in A Parlor Match was a hit, and she quickly became one of the highest-paid performers of her time.

Held’s success was not merely the result of Ziegfeld’s promotion. She had a magnetic stage presence, a sly wit, and a voice that charmed audiences. Her roles in musicals like The Little Duchess and A Parisian Model showcased her comedic timing and coquettish flair. She embodied a new kind of femininity—glamorous, self-aware, and performative.

Her relationship with Ziegfeld was both personal and professional. Though they never married, they lived together for over a decade and Held was instrumental in shaping Ziegfeld’s vision. Her style and persona laid the groundwork for the Ziegfeld Follies, which would become synonymous with opulence and beauty. Yet as Ziegfeld’s ambitions grew, so did the distance between them. He became infatuated with other women, notably Lillian Lorraine and later Billie Burke, whom he married in 1914.

Held’s final years were marked by illness and fading fame. She died of multiple myeloma in 1918 at the age of 45. Ziegfeld did not attend her funeral.

Photographed by the legendary Baron Adolf de Meyer for Vogue in April 1919, Rose Dolores exudes the elegance and mystique that made her a star. Known for her commanding stage presence, Dolores rose to fame as the luminous lead of the Ziegfeld Follies from 1917 until her retirement in 1923—a muse of fashion, beauty, and theatrical glamour in the post-Edwardian era.

But her story did not end with the footlights. Dolores spent the rest of her life in Paris, where she displayed a different kind of courage— risking her safety during World War I to help Allied airmen escape Nazi-occupied France. Both on and off stage, she embodied grace, bravery, and an unwavering spirit.

#RoseDolores #ZiegfeldFollies #Vogue1919 #AdolfDeMeyer #WartimeHeroine

Silver Screen magazine, April 1940

Billie Burke's grandchildren: Cecilia, Florenz, Susan, and William

"May your dearest wish come true" 1940