Maria Riva

Maria Riva, née Sieber; born 13 December 1924, is an American actress, film historian, biographer, and activist. She worked on television at CBS in the 1950s, becoming one of the first stars of early kinescope-era television. She is the daughter of the actress Marlene Dietrich, about whom she wrote a memoir, which was published in 1992.

Biography

Early life

Maria Elisabeth Sieber was born in Berlin, the only child of actress Marlene Dietrich and film production assistant Rudolf Sieber (and later Paramount Pictures director of dubbing, Paris, France). In 1930, at age six, she moved with her mother to Los Angeles, California. In 1934, aged 9, she had a small role in Josef von Sternberg's film The Scarlet Empress, based on the life of Catherine the Great, in which she played Catherine as a child. She was also an extra in the 1936 David O Selznick production, The Garden of Allah.

Acting career

She received acting training and during the Second World War entertained Allied troops in Europe for the USO from 1945-1946, stationed in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. She also acted in theatre and summer stock, including a production of Tea and Sympathy. Riva appeared at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway in the 1954 production The Burning Glass, opposite Cedric Hardwicke and Walter Matthau.