Q 01/05

In which Berlin district was Marlene Dietrich born in 1901?

A) Schöneberg

B) Charlottenburg

C) Kreuzberg

D) Spandau

Answer · why

A) Schöneberg

She was buried near her mother in the same district in 1992.

Q 02/05

How did Dietrich arrive at the name Marlene?

A) It was a childhood nickname from her sister

B) By combining her first two names, Marie and Magdalene

C) It was her mother's maiden name

D) A stage director invented it

Answer · why

B) By combining her first two names, Marie and Magdalene

She did it aged about 11; the family called her Lena or Leni.

Q 03/05

What was the profession of Dietrich's father?

A) Army general

B) Schoolteacher

C) Police lieutenant

D) Jeweller and clockmaker

Answer · why

C) Police lieutenant

Her mother's family owned a Berlin jewellery and clock-making firm.

Q 04/05

Which instrument did the young Dietrich study, hoping for a concert career until a wrist injury intervened?

A) Piano

B) Cello

C) Flute

D) Violin

Answer · why

D) Violin

By 1922 she was playing it in a cinema pit orchestra for silent films, and was fired after four weeks.

Q 05/05

Which theatre impresario's drama academy rejected Dietrich in 1922?

A) Max Reinhardt

B) Bertolt Brecht

C) Erwin Piscator

D) Fritz Lang

Answer · why

A) Max Reinhardt

She began as a chorus girl and took small roles in his productions.