SONJA HENIE BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Sonja Henie, figure skater turned actress, was born April 8, 1912 in Oslo, Norway. She was the only daughter of a wealthy fur salesman and his wife, and grew up encouraged by her parents to excel in athletics. At age six she began ice skating, and quickly moved up in the ranks by winning competitions. By age fourteen she was the Norwegian Skating Champion, and by age fifteen she had won her first Olympic gold medal. She won gold medals twice more in 1932 and 1936, before going professional and touring around Europe and the Americas with a leading part in the Hollywood Ice Revue. In 1936 she signed a contract with 20th Century Fox, for she wanted a career in motion pictures as well.
Her debut came in “One in a Million” (1936), in which she played a skater. “Thin Ice” (1937) followed, and she portrayed another ice skater. In fact, all of her films featured the starlet performing her tricks and exposing the world to the beauty and grace of the sport. She was fantastic in her art, and consequently was one of the most enticing performers at the box office between 1937 and 1945. Henie’s pictures were rather successful, too, and she starred in a total of ten of these light romantic comedy films. Such features include “Second Fiddle” (1939), “Everything Happens at Night” (1939), “Sun Valley Serenade” (1941), and “It’s a Pleasure” (1945). In 1948, she acted in her final movie, “The Countess of Monte Cristo” (1948).
As films were fading to television, Henie stopped making movie appearances. She produced her ice show Hollywood Ice Revue for a couple more years before it too began to lose popularity. In 1956 she made her farewell to the screen with her last acting role in the TV movie “Holiday on Ice”. In the mid sixties the actress was diagnosed with leukemia, and she passed away on October 12, 1969 from the disease while en route, on an airplane, to her birthplace. When she died, she was one of the ten richest women in the world.
Filmography
1958 Hello London
1956 Holiday on Ice
1948 The Countess of Monte Cristo
1945 It's a Pleasure
1943 Wintertime
1942 Iceland
1941 Sun Valley Serenade
1939 Everything Happens at Night
1939 Second Fiddle
1938 My Lucky Star
1938 Happy Landing
1937 Thin Ice
1936 One in a Million
1927 Syv dager for Elisabeth
