Ingrid Bergman on her Wedding Day (1937)

In 1937, at the age of 21, Ingrid Bergman (1915 – 1982) married Petter Aron Lindström; a dentist at the time, he would later study to become a neurosurgeon. The couple had a daughter, Pia. The marriage lasted until 1950, when she fell in love with Italian film director Roberto Rossellini on the set of Stromboli.

Lindström sued for desertion and waged a custody battle with Bergman for their daughter, and Pia did not reunite with her mother until 1957.

Ingrid Bergman on her wedding day, 1937 via

Ingrid Bergman with Petter Lindström on their wedding day, 1937 via

Ingrid Bergman with Petter Lindström on their wedding day, 1937 via

Coco Chanel

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud. – Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel, French fashion designer

Untitled (hand and mirror) by Dora Maar (1934)

Untitled (hand and mirror) by Dora Maar, 1934 via

Marlene Dietrich in New York by Cecil Beaton (1935)

Cecil Beaton came to New York in 1928. Through personal connections he gained access to some of Hollywood’s biggest stars–including Marlene Dietrich (source).

Portrait of Marlene Dietrich in New York by Cecil Beaton, 1935 via

Portrait of Marlene Dietrich in New York by Cecil Beaton, 1935 via

Colette on a Parisian balcony (1932)

Colette on a balcony, Paris, 1932 via

Colette on a balcony, Paris, 1932 via

American Dancer Jean Barry (1930s)

Dancer Jean Barry, ca. 1931. Photo by George Hoyningen-Huene via

Dancer Jean Barry, performing in the play Evergreen, 1931. Photo by George Hoyningen-Huene via

Dancer Jean Barry, 1931. Photo by Edward Steichen via

Paul & Nusch Eluard by Man Ray (1936)

Man Ray, Portrait de Paul Eluard, avec Nusch, à Montlignon. 1936 via

Anna May Wong for Daughter of the Dragon (1931)

Portrait of Anna May Wong for Daughter of the Dragon directed by Lloyd Corrigan, 1931 via

Anna May Wong and Warner Oland in Daughter of the Dragon directed by Lloyd Corrigan, 1931 via

Nusch Éluard Photographed by Man Ray

Nusch Éluard (born Maria Benzn; 1906 – 1946) was a French performer, model and surrealist artist.

Born in Mulhouse (then part of the German Empire), she met Swiss architect and artist Max Bill in the Odeon Café in Zurich; he nicknamed her “Nusch”, a name she would stick to.

She moved to Paris in 1928 working as a stage performer, variously described as a small-time actress, a traveling acrobat, and a “hypnotist‘s stooge”. in In 1930 she met the poet Paul Éluard working as a model. They married him in 1934. She produced surrealist photomontage and other work, and is the subject of “Facile,” a collection of Éluard’s poetry published as a photogravure book, illustrated with Man Ray’s nude photographs of her.

She was also the subject of several cubist portraits and sketches by Pablo Picasso in the late 1930s, and is said to have had an affair with him. Nusch worked for the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. She died in 1946 in Paris, collapsing in the street due to a massive stroke.

Nusch Éluard by Man Ray, 1936 via

Man Ray, Nusch au Miroir, 1935 via

Man Ray, Portrait of Nusch Eluard, 1934 via

Man Ray, Portrait of Nusch Eluard, 1936 via

Audrey Hepburn in “Ondine” (1954)

Ondine is a play written in 1938 by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, based on the 1811 novella Undine by the German RomanticFriedrich de la Motte Fouqué that tells the story of Hans and Ondine. Hans is a knight-errant who has been sent off on a quest by his betrothed. In the forest he meets and falls in love with Ondine, a water-sprite who is attracted to the world of mortal man. The subsequent marriage of people from different worlds is, of course, folly. By turns comic, enchanting, and tragic, Ondine is considered by some to be Giraudoux’s finest work.

The play was adapted by Maurice Valency, opening on Broadway in 1954 in a production by Alfred Lunt with a cast including Mel Ferrer, John Alexander, Peter Brandon, Alan Hewitt, Edith King, Robert Middleton, William Podmore, Marian Seldes, and Audrey Hepburn in the role that made her a star.

Ondine won the 1954 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play. This production also garnered the 1954 Tony awards for Best Director (Lunt) and Best Actress in a Play (Hepburn).

Audrey Hepburn photographed on stage during a performance of Ondine, New York, 1954 via

Audrey Hepburn during the theatre production of “Ondine” by Philippe Halsman via

Audrey Hepburn photographed by Milton H. Greene on stage during a performance of Ondine, New York, 1954 via

Audrey Hepburn photographed by Milton H. Greene on stage during a performance of Ondine, New York, 1954 via