Marlene Dietrich’s Grandson Talks Rumors About Her Life: Was She Really a Recluse?

DESIRE, Marlene Dietrich, 1936 — Everett Collection

Marlene Dietrich, who died on May 6, 1992, at age 90, was a legendary actress and singer whose career spanned nearly 70 years, captivating audiences with her sultry voice and immense talent. She rose to fame in the late 1920s and became an international star with her role as Lola Lola in The Blue Angel (1930). That breakout role led to a long collaboration with director Josef von Sternberg and a string of glamorous Hollywood films that helped define her persona, including Morocco, Shanghai Express and The Devil Is a Woman.

During World War II, she became a passionate anti-Nazi and performed tirelessly for Allied troops, earning high honors for her efforts. Though she later found success in dramatic roles in films like Witness for the Prosecution and Judgment at Nuremberg, Dietrich spent much of her later career performing live around the world. Though she died 33 years ago, she remains one of the most iconic figures of classic Hollywood cinema. Now, her grandson, Peter Riva, is opening about his famous grandmother and debunking some rumors surrounding her later years.

THE SCARLET EMPRESS, Marlene Dietrich, 1934 thescarletempress1934-fsct06(thescarletempress1934-fsct06)

Everett Collection

Riva recalls spending time with his grandmother, whom he lovingly called “Massy.” Now, the 67-year-old works as a literary agent and hopes to protect her legacy. While his mother previously wrote a memoir about Dietrich, he said that he hopes to publish some of her German poems in English later this year.

Riva also spoke about some of the rumors surrounding his grandmother’s later years. Some have said that she was a recluse and became an alcoholic, both of which Riva dismissed. He joked to Fox News, “We used to struggle to pay her phone bill, which was $5,000 a month. Hardly a recluse. And 20-30 letters a day? Good Lord, had the internet been around then, she would have been tweeting all the time!”

SHANGHAI EXPRESS, Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, 1932

Everett Collection

He admitted that the gossip probably developed because she only allowed close family or friends to visit her and she refused to be photographed as she aged. Riva added about her alcohol intake, “She was drinking her whole life. This is the generation that … Alcohol was a regular part of every single day … My mother would joke, ‘When you die, we’re going to give your body to science to find out how come your liver and kidneys still work.’ Because this was a woman who, even at the age of 90, was drinking a bottle of champagne and half a bottle of scotch a day. She’d go breathe oxygen for five minutes [to avoid a hangover] and go on with her day … Drinking that much was normal in her time. So she just continued right up to when she died, a couple days before anyway.”

Riva shared that his grandmother’s favorite accomplishment wasn’t any of her awards or films; it was helping out the troops. She was harassed by Hitler and his troops to come back to Germany but she refused and escaped, performing for Allied forces. After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1939, she felt it was her duty to help and became one of the first celebrities to raise war bonds. “She was never more proud,” Riva concluded to Fox News. “I think that is her great legacy.”