Hollywood's First Naked Lady

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Sally Kellerman's grandma?...

Annette Kellerman: Hollywood's first nude star
19 Feb.`16 - It's 100 years since Annette Kellerman became the first person to appear nude in a Hollywood film. But this was just one of many remarkable events in her life.

She sat naked on a tree branch, her arms stretched upwards, but her hair largely covered her breasts. It might not seem very risque today, but this scene, from a film released in 1916, was an important event in the history of film. Annette Kellerman is regarded as the first star - male or female - to appear nude in a mainstream Hollywood production. The fantasy drama A Daughter of the Gods featured her as a character called Alicia who falls in love with a prince and enlists the help of the inhabitants of Gnomeland to help in his struggles with his enemies. The cast included a sultan, the Witch of Badness, the Fairy of Goodness and several eunuchs. No copies of the film are thought to exist today, but at the time it caused a huge media fuss. An advert promoting the film among cinema owners proclaimed: "It has made big money wherever shown. Book it now."

When A Daughter of the Gods came to Kellerman's native Australia in 1917, The Green Room theatrical magazine said anyone not seeing it would miss "one of the greatest events" in the country's history. "From the far-away sphere of the Unknown we are immediately borne, by this film, to a land of enchantment," it added. "Something of the wonder of the Arabian Nights, of the glory of the East, of our own war, of fairyland, of womanly power and eternal beauty, is manifested to us by this masterpiece of cinematography."

The film was a first for Hollywood but just one of a remarkable series of events in the life of Kellerman - a champion swimmer, vaudeville pioneer, swimwear designer, stuntwoman, businesswoman and health-and-fitness guru. "She represented the fit, active and spectacular female body, and urged other women to throw away their corsets and become fit and healthy," says Angela Woollacott, professor of history at Australian National University. "She saw herself as something of a guru for women's fitness, but others also saw her as an icon of feminine modernity," she adds.

Born in Marrickville in Sydney, Australia, on 6 July 1887, the daughter of two musicians, Kellerman was crippled by rickets as a child and took up swimming to overcome the weakness in her legs. By 13 she was healed and by 15 she had learned all the strokes and won her first race. Kellerman's talent was obvious and, by the early 1900s, she became the holder of all of the women's world records for swimming. Aware of the commercial possibilities her skills provided, she put on shows in which she swam with fish in an aquarium and performed high dives at Melbourne's Theatre Royal. In 1905, Kellerman moved to the UK, where she swam 27km (17 miles) along the Thames, from Putney to Blackwall. In the same year, she attempted, but failed, to become the first woman to swim the English Channel.

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