Annette Marie Sarah Kellermann (6 July 1886 – 6 November 1975) was an Australian professional swimmer,

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

star, film actress, and writer, usually spelt with a single final n as Annette Kellerman. Kellermann was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume, instead of the then-accepted pantaloons, and inspired others to follow her example. Kellerman's swimming costumes became so popular that she started her own fashion line of one-piece bathing suits. Kellermann helped popularise the sport of

synchronised swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming), also known as artistic swimming, is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by World A ...

, and authored a swimming manual. She appeared in several movies, usually with aquatic themes, and as the star of the 1916 film '' A Daughter of the Gods'' was the first major actress to appear nude in a Hollywood production. Kellermann was an advocate of health, fitness, and natural beauty throughout her life.

Early life

Annette Kellermann was born in

Marrickville, New South Wales Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council Local government ...

, Australia, on 6 July 1886, to Australian-born violinist Frederick William Kellermann, and his French wife, Alice Ellen Charbonnet, a pianist and music teacher. At the age of six, a weakness in Kellermann's legs necessitated the wearing of steel braces to strengthen them. To further overcome her

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...

, her parents enrolled her in swimming classes at Cavill's Baths, a tidal swimming pool in the North Sydney suburb of Lavender Bay. By the age of 13, her legs were practically normal, and by 15, she had mastered all the swimming strokes and won her first race. At this time she was also giving

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

displays.

Swimming career

In 1902, Kellermann won the ladies' 100 yards and mile championships of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in the record times of 1 minute, 22 seconds and 33 minutes, 49 seconds respectively. In that same year, her parents decided to move to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria, and she was enrolled at Mentone Girls' Grammar School, where her mother had accepted a music teaching position. During her time at school, Kellermann gave exhibitions of swimming and diving at the main Melbourne baths, performed a mermaid act at Princes Court entertainment centre, and did two shows a day swimming with fish in a glass tank at the Exhibition Aquarium. In June and July 1903, she performed sensational high dives in the Coogee scene of Bland Holt's spectacular, '' The Breaking of the Drought'', at the Melbourne Theatre Royal. Kellermann and Beatrice Kerr, who was billed as "Australia's Champion Lady Swimmer and Diver", were rivals, although Kerr's public challenges to Kellermann to meet in a competitive race went unanswered. On 24 August 1905, aged 19, Kellermann was one of the first women to attempt to swim across the English Channel. A Dover ship pilot said Kellermann was not permitted to swim any further on her attempts, despite his opinion being that she could have kept going for much longer. After three unsuccessful swims she declared, "I had the endurance but not the brute strength." The first woman to attempt a Channel crossing had been Austrian Baroness Walburga von Isacescu, in September 1900. She had made a previous effort the month before alongside Ted Heaton, but had to leave the water several miles out in the channel due to sea-sickness. Kellermann later challenged and defeated von Isacescu in a

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

race. While in London a short was filmed of her performances and shown back in Australian venues. In 1911, she appeared on Broadway in the title role of "Undine", an aquacade specialty conceived by composer Manuel Klein and performed in repertory with the popular musical '' Vera Violetta'' that featured

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

. Kellermann performed a water ballet in a glass tank at the

New York Hippodrome The Hippodrome Theatre, also called the New York Hippodrome, was a theater located on Sixth Avenue between West 43rd and West 44th Streets in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater operated from 1905 to 1939 ...

in 1917.

Swimwear line

Kellermann advocated for the right of women to wear a one-piece bathing suit, which was controversial at the time.Reader's Digest Services, "Record-breaking swimmers", ''Australia's Yesterdays: a Look at Our Recent Past'', 2nd edition, 1974 p. 193 According to an Australian magazine, "In the early 1900s, women were expected to wear cumbersome dress and pantaloon combinations when swimming." Although Kellermann later claimed to have been arrested at Revere Beach for public indecency while wearing one of her suits, there are no contemporary police records or news stories corroborating this, and she appears to have invented the incident. The popularity of her one-piece suits resulted in her own line of women's swimwear. The "Annette Kellermans", as they were known, were the first step towards modern women's swimwear.

Film career

In 1916, Kellermann became the first major actress to perform in a nude scene when she appeared fully nude in '' A Daughter of the Gods''. Made by

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox (producer), William Fox. It was the corporate successor to ...

, ''A Daughter of the Gods'' was the first million-dollar film production. Like many of Kellermann's other films, this is now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

, as no copies are known to exist. The majority of Kellermann's films had themes of aquatic adventure. She performed her own stunts including diving from into the sea and into a pool of crocodiles. Many times she would play mermaids named Annette or variations of her own name. Her "fairy tale films", as she called them, started with ''The Mermaid'' (1911), in which she was the first actress to wear a swimmable mermaid costume on film, paving the way for future screen sirens such as

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (5 October 1923 – 4 January 2024) was a British actress. In a career exceeding seven decades on stage and screen, Johns appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. She received various accolades throughout her ca ...

('' Miranda''),

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

Ann Blyth Ann Blyth (born Anne Marie Blythe; August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. She began her career in radio as a child before transitioning to Broadway, where she appeared in Lillian Hellman, Lillian Hellman’s ''Watch on the R ...

('' Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid'') and

Daryl Hannah Daryl Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her film debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film ''The Fury (1978 film), The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various films across the ...

('' Splash''). Kellermann designed her own mermaid swimming costumes and sometimes made them herself. Similar designs are still used by the Weeki Wachee Springs Mermaids, including her aquatic fairy costume first introduced in '' Queen of the Sea'' (1918, another lost film). Kellermann appeared in one of the last films made in Prizma Color, '' Venus of the South Seas'' (1924), a US/New Zealand co-production where one reel of the 55-minute film was in colour and underwater. ''Venus of the South Seas'' was restored by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

in 2004 and is the only feature film starring Kellermann known to exist in its complete form.

Publications

In addition to her film and stage career, Kellermann wrote several books including ''How to Swim'' (1918), ''Physical Beauty: How to Keep It'' (1919), a book of children's stories titled ''Fairy Tales of the South Seas'' (1926), and ''My Story'', an unpublished autobiography. She also wrote numerous mail order booklets on health, beauty, and fitness called The Body Beautiful.

Personal life

Kellermann married her American-born manager, James Sullivan, on or around 26 November 1912 at

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2020 was 86,518. It is the third-largest city in Western Connecticut, and the seventh-largest ...

. A life-long

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

, Kellermann owned a

health food store A health food store (or health food shop) is a type of grocery store that primarily sells healthful foods, organic foods, local produce, and often nutritional supplements. Health food stores typically offer a wider or more specialized selectio ...

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, later in life. She remained active well into old age, continuing to swim and exercise until a short time before her death. She and her husband returned to live in Australia in 1970, and in 1974, she was honoured by the International Swimming Hall of Fame at

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

, Florida. Kellermann outlived her husband and died in the hospital at

Southport, Queensland Southport is a coastal town and the most populous suburb in the City of Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. It contains the Gold Coast central business district. In the , Southport had a population of 36,786 people. Geography Southport is ...

, Australia, on 6 November 1975, aged 89. She was cremated with

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

rites. Her remains were scattered in the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

. She had no children.

Legacy

In 1908, after a study of 3,000 women, Dudley A. Sargent of

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

dubbed Kellerman the "Perfect Woman" because of the similarity of her physical attributes to the

Venus de Milo The ''Venus de Milo'' or ''Aphrodite of Melos'' is an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek marble sculpture that was created during the Hellenistic art, Hellenistic period. Its exact dating is uncertain, but the modern consensus places it in the 2nd ...

. During her Fox film series, she was often billed as 'Australia's Perfect Woman.' Kellermann's large collection of costumes and theatrical memorabilia was bequeathed to the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. Today, many of her original costumes and personal items are held by the

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), is a collection of 4 museums in Sydney, owned by the Government of New South Wales. Powerhouse is a contemporary museum of applied arts and sciences, explori ...

in Sydney, Australia. The Mitchell collection, State Library of New South Wales holds Kellerman's archive of personal papers. Kellerman was portrayed by

in the film '' Million Dollar Mermaid'' (1952), and her name is on a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

, on

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It runs through the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Los Feliz districts. Its western terminus is at Sunset Plaza Drive in the Hollyw ...

. An award-winning Australian documentary called ''The Original Mermaid'', which was about Kellermann, was produced in 2002. A swimming complex in Marrickville which opened December 2010 was named after her. The streets in the suburb of Holt in the Australian capital

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

are all named after Australian sportspeople, and Kellermann Close was named for her. In 2016, X Swimwear, a made-to-measure swimwear line, launched a custom swimsuit called "The Kellerman" after her. The American thoroughbred mare Annette K. (foaled in 1921 out of the mare Bathing Girl) was named after her. Annette K. became the grandam of U.S. Triple Crown winner

War Admiral War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse and the fourth winner of the American Triple Crown. He was also the 1937 Horse of the Year and well known as the rival of Seabiscuit in the "Match Ra ...

Filmography

* '' The Bride of Lammermoor: A Tragedy of Bonnie Scotland'' (1909, Short) * '' Jephtah's Daughter: A Biblical Tragedy'' (1909, Short) - Jepthah's Daughter * ''The Gift of Youth'' (1909, Short) * ''Entombed Alive'' (1909, Short) * ''The Mermaid'' (1911, Short) - Mermaid * ''Siren of the Sea'' (1911, Short) - Siren of the Sea * '' Neptune's Daughter'' (1914) - Annette, Neptune's daughter * '' A Daughter of the Gods'' (1916) - Anitia - Daughter of the Gods * '' National Red Cross Pageant'' (1917) - The Mediterranean - Italian episode * '' Queen of the Sea'' (1918) - Merrilla, Queen of the Sea * '' What Women Love'' (1920) - Annabel Cotton * '' Venus of the South Seas'' (1924) - Shona Royale (final film role)

As herself

* ''Miss Kellerman's Diving Feats'' (1907, Documentary short) * ''Miss Annette Kellerman'' (1909, Documentary short) * ''The Perfectly Formed Woman'' (1910, Short) * ''The Universal Boy'' (1914) * ''The Art of Diving'' (1920, Documentary short) * ''Annette Kellermann Performing Water Ballet'' (1925, Documentary short) * ''Annette Kellermann Returns to Australia'' (1933, Documentary short) * ''Water Ballet: Sydney'' (1940, Short) * ''Water Ballet'' (1941, Short)

Archival footage

* ''The Love Goddesses'' (1965) * ''The Original Mermaid'' (2002)

Works

* ''How to Swim'' * ''Physical Beauty, How to Keep It''''Physical Beauty, How to Keep It''
Kellermann, Annette; Library of Congress; New York : George H. Doran Company,

918 __NOTOC__ Year 918 (Roman numerals, CMXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * December 23 – King Conrad I of Germany, Conrad I, injured at one of his battles with Arnulf, D ...

References

External links

* * *
"Annette Kellermann"
at Women Film Pioneers Project

''

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'' (Postmaster General)
Annette Kellermann Online Exhibition
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kellermann, Annette 1887 births 1975 deaths 20th-century Australian sportswomen 20th-century Australian actresses Australian female swimmers Australian Roman Catholics Australian people of French descent Australian silent film actresses Australian synchronised swimmers People associated with physical culture People from Marrickville People from Queensland Australian vaudeville performers Women film pioneers Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees People educated at Mentone Girls' Grammar School