50 Fun Facts About Sonja Henie

Sonja Henie competed for which country?

She was born in Kristiania, now Oslo, in 1912, the only daughter of a prosperous furrier.

How many Olympic gold medals did Henie win in women's singles?

She won in 1928, 1932 and 1936, a haul no ladies' singles skater has matched since.

How many consecutive World Championships did Henie win?

Her run from 1927 to 1936 remains the women's record, matching Ulrich Salchow's ten men's titles.

Henie's father Wilhelm had been a world champion in which sport?

He was also a prosperous furrier, and both parents gave up their own pursuits to manage Sonja's career.

Which famous Russian ballerina did Henie's father hire to help train his daughter?

Henie's formal schooling ended once serious training began, and she was educated by tutors.

Which Russian dancer did Henie idolise after seeing her perform in London?

Henie studied ballet from an early age and later brought dance choreography into competitive skating.

At the 1924 Winter Olympics, aged eleven, Henie finished in what position?

Just a few years later she was world champion while still in her mid-teens.

How old was Henie when she won her first world title in 1927?

She beat defending Olympic and world champion Herma Szabo of Austria in a disputed 3-2 decision.

Why was Henie's 1927 world title in Oslo considered controversial?

The Austrian and German judges both put Herma Szabo first; the episode helped push judging reform.

Which other skater is the only one besides Henie to successfully defend a ladies' singles Olympic crown?

Witt also matched Henie's run of consecutive European titles between 1983 and 1988.

Henie and which Swedish skater are the only two people to win three Olympic golds in single skating?

Grafström took the men's title in 1920, 1924 and 1928.

At which resort did Henie win her first Olympic gold in 1928?

Red flags were placed on the rink to mark the worst patches during the ladies' free skate.

The 1932 Olympics, where Henie won her second gold, were the first Games to hold figure skating where?

The events took place at the Olympic Center Arena in Lake Placid, New York.

Which British skater, only eleven at the 1932 Games, ran Henie close for gold in 1936?

Colledge is credited with the first double jump by a woman and with inventing the camel and layback spins.

After the 1936 Olympic school figures, what did Henie reportedly do with the results sheet?

She then drew the plum last skating slot while her rival went second of 26; a fairer staggered draw was adopted years later.

The 1936 Winter Olympics, site of Henie's third gold, were held in which German town?

The 1936 European Championships took place in Berlin the same year.

At home in Oslo, Henie trained at which venue, where a statue of her now stands?

Her coaches there included Hjørdis Olsen and Oscar Holte, and a statue of speed skater Oscar Mathisen stands beside hers.

Which American coach based in London trained Henie for the latter part of her competitive career?

Her fame was such that police were called for crowd control at appearances in Prague and New York.

Henie is credited as the first figure skater to adopt which items now standard in the sport?

Once white boots caught on, she switched to beige to stay unique.

Which studio chief signed Henie to a long-term contract at Twentieth Century-Fox in 1936?

Her father had staged an ice show in Los Angeles specifically to launch her film career.

What was the title of Henie's 1936 Hollywood debut film?

It featured footage of the 1936 Winter Olympics and became one of the highest-grossing films of 1937.

Which comedy trio appeared alongside Henie in her debut film?

Adolphe Menjou played a broke showman and Don Ameche a Paris Herald reporter.

In Thin Ice (1937), Henie's skate instructor falls for a skier who is secretly what?

The skier was played by a young Tyrone Power, who reunited with her in Second Fiddle.

Which 1938 film, co-starring Ethel Merman and Don Ameche, was Henie's biggest box-office hit?

Its production numbers used 84 skaters, half of them dancers who learned to skate and vice versa.

Second Fiddle (1939) parodied the search for an actress to play which famous role?

Irving Berlin wrote the score, and Henie insisted on total control of the skating numbers.

Which bandleader's orchestra featured in Henie's 1941 hit Sun Valley Serenade?

The film's 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' earned the first ever gold record for 1.2 million sales.

Who performs 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' in Sun Valley Serenade?

The Nicholas Brothers dance the number, and the song was Oscar-nominated for Best Song.

Henie's 1939 film Everything Happens at Night, about a hunted Nobel laureate, was banned where?

Ray Milland and Robert Cummings played rival reporters chasing the story in the Swiss Alps.

Which 1945 film was Henie's only Technicolor picture and her only attempt at drama?

A skating variation on A Star Is Born, it exposed her limits as a dramatic actress.

Who produced Henie's touring 'Hollywood Ice Revue' and acted as her financial adviser?

When she broke with him in 1950, his shows featured new Olympic champion Barbara Ann Scott and controlled the best arenas.

Throughout the 1940s Henie's lavish ice extravaganzas played at a theatre inside which Manhattan complex?

The shows drew millions of ticket buyers at a time when ice shows were not yet established US entertainment.

A section of bleachers collapsed during a Henie show in 1952 in which city, compounding her tour's woes?

Her rival tours were also squeezed by Ice Capades and other touring shows in saturated markets.

In 1953 Henie joined Morris Chalfen's successful European tour of which ice show?

A South American tour in 1956 was a disaster, and heavy drinking ended her performing career.

Henie's last film, the self-financed Hello London (1958), co-starred which actor?

Stanley Holloway was a special guest star, but the film found few distributors and poor reviews.

Henie's autobiography, published in English in 1940, was titled what?

The Norwegian original, Mitt livs eventyr, appeared in 1938 and a revised edition followed in 1954.

Henie caused outrage at home by lunching after the 1936 Games with Hitler at which of his homes?

He gave her an autographed photo with a lengthy inscription; she had greeted him with a Nazi salute at the Games.

Henie's first husband, Dan Topping, later became part owner and president of which baseball team?

During his tenure from 1945 to 1964 the club won 14 pennants and ten World Series.

Henie's third husband, Niels Onstad, made his fortune in which business?

A former Lyn footballer, he had contacts in the Norwegian art world including Edvard Munch.

The Henie Onstad Art Centre, founded in 1968, stands at Høvikodden in which municipality near Oslo?

The couple donated 110 works and construction funds in 1961; the collection now exceeds 8,000 pieces.

Henie died in 1969 aged 57 of which disease, on an ambulance flight from Paris to Oslo?

She had been planning a TV comeback dancing to 'Lara's Theme' from Doctor Zhivago.

In 1938 Henie became the youngest knight first class of the Norwegian Order of which saint?

She was also named honorary colonel of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Fort Bragg.

Which Disney character skates in Henie's likeness in the 1939 short The Hockey Champ?

He also asks for her autograph in the short The Autograph Hound.

Norwegian Air Shuttle's aircraft tails carry portraits of what kind of people?

Her portrait moved from a 737-300 to a 737-800 and, in 2013, to the airline's first 787 Dreamliner.

'Sonja Henie's tutu!' was a favourite exclamation of the hosts of which NPR programme?

Chevy Chase's Ty Webb also name-checks her as an unavailable golf partner in Caddyshack.

Who played Henie in the 2018 Norwegian biopic Sonja: The White Swan?

Anne Sewitsky's film was shown at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

Sonja Henie skated at the first World Championships held in North America, in 1930. Which city?

Historian Ellyn Kestnbaum argues Henie shifted the sport's image firmly toward glamour and femininity.

What was the trade of Sonja Henie's prosperous father, Wilhelm?

Both parents had inherited wealth too, and later gave up their own pursuits to manage Sonja's travels.

Henie took up figure skating after first showing talent in which other sport?

She followed her older brother Leif onto the ice and was also a nationally ranked tennis player.

For a planned 1970 television comeback, Henie intended to dance to the theme from which film?

She died of leukaemia in 1969, before the special could air.

Adjusted to 2017 dollars, how many of Henie's films passed $100 million at the US box office?

Happy Landing (1938) was the biggest of them all.