Marlene Dietrich is a mythical woman and actress who worked actively on the creation of her myth. Her ability to create and manipulate a recognizable and durable star image influenced modern popular icons such as Madonna. The German Marlene Dietrich emerged onto the world stage as a screen idol taking Hollywood by storm in the 1930s, moved on to become a troop entertainer during the Second World War, and ended her career as an age-defying concert singer in the 1950s and 1960s. Gender-bending Marlene enjoyed many decades of a stardom that was predicated on one core attribute—her ability to remain ambivalent and mysterious.

Maria Magdalene Dietrich was born a policeman's daughter in Berlin, although her father died when she was young. She was a schoolgirl during the upheavals of World War I, during which her step-father, a colonel, died of war wounds. Although...