Leni started taking lessons in 1910 when her teacher and other members of the Russian dancing school in Berlin began to notice her talent. By 1920 Riefenstahl appeared regularly on stage as a dancer and she was noticed by well-known stage personalities all over Europe.

In the course of her career, she met Max Reinhardt, a well-known stage director. She considered going into theatre for a while but denied the opportunity of playing lead role in a theatre production. Riefenstahl looked into theatre during this time and some of Reindhardt's work and found herself becoming increasingly interested in film. Even though at the time, going to the movies was an ill-respected form of entertainment, Riefenstahl came to know the film as a craft while still pursuing her dancing career. Her dancing experience and her training as a painter, which took place while she was also a dancer, played an important part in shaping the style of her film editing and composition.

In the early 1920's she met a very significant man called Dr Arnold Fanck.

Riefenstahl and Fanck came together during Riefenstahl's knee injury, which disabled her from dancing in 1926. The same year in which Fanck also signed her up for his new film `The Holy Mountain'.

Riefenstahl's participation in the mountain films directed by Fanck, built up an image of an innocent young girl who represented idealism, love and beauty.

Riefenstahl appeared in several other films of Fancks including `The great Leap', `The White hell of Piz Palu', `The Destiny of the Hapsburgs' and `Storms over Mont Blanc'.

In 1931 Riefenstahl established her own production company and the next year she released her first film which she also starred in, `The Blue Light'.

After completing this film she starred as an actress in only one more film directed by Fanck, `SOS Iceberg'. Then she moved on to other things, her cooperation with The Third Reich, which drastically changed her life.