Marlene Dietrich‘s Daughter, Maria Riva, Dies at 100
Maria Riva, daughter of iconic actressโฃ Marlene Dietrich and teh woman who dedicated much of her life to preserving her mother’s โlegacy, has โdied at theโค age โฃofโ 100. Riva passedโฃ away peacefully, leaving behind a rich โhistory โintertwined with Hollywood’s golden age and a complex, often-guarded relationship with one โof its most enduring stars.
riva’s โlifeโ was a testament โฃto familial devotion and artistic โคpursuit.Beyond being the offspring of aโ global icon,she forged her own path as an author,editor,and actress,appearing in films like Scrooged (1988) โwhere she played Bill Murray’s boss,andโ later in theโ 2018 short film Allโ Aboard directed โขby her โคgrandson. โฃHer efforts toโข curate and โshare โher mother’sโข story extended to โฃco-authoring a 1996 photography book featuring previously unseen images of โขDietrich, editing a 2005 collection of the actress’s poetry, and penning โคthe 2017 pastโฃ novel You Where There Before Myโ Eyes.
Born in โข1924,Riva’s early life was โขmarked by theโ glamourโข andโข upheaval of her mother’s risingโ stardom.โค Dietrich and her husband,Rudolf sieber,never โขdivorced despite living separate lives for manyโค years. Riva frequently enough spoke candidly about the unconventional natureโ of her parents’ relationshipโ and her mother’s numerous affairs, famously recounted in a story she shared with Diane Sawyer regarding Dietrich’sโข envisionedโ funeral: “All the men โขwho walk into โคtheโ church, and women, who โhad slept with her would โget a red carnation, and all theโ people whoโ said they hadโ slept withโข her but hadn’t would get a white carnation.”
Following Dietrich’s death โคin 1992 from liver failure, Riva took on the obligationโข of managing her estate, ultimately selling aโ significant portion to the Deutsche Kinemathek museum in โBerlin to ensure herโข mother’s cultural impact โฃwould endure. She was predeceased by her โขhusband, William riva, in 1999, and her son, J. Michael riva, a celebratedโ production designer โwho โworked on Scrooged, in โฃ2013.
Riva is survived by her sonsโค Peter,โค David, and John-Paul, and also โher grandchildren Lily, Ayla, Aidan, and Marilee.Her passing marks โtheโข end โคof a direct link โto a โฃcinematic legend, but โher workโค ensures โMarlene Dietrich’s story willโ continue to captivate audiences for generations to come. Dietrich herself achievedโค lasting fame with roles in โขfilms such as Morocco โฃ(1930), earning an Oscar nomination, and later classics like Blonde Venus (1932), Touch โof Evil (1958), and Judgment at Nuremberg โค(1961).
