Dita Von Teese
| Dita Von Teese | ||
 Dita Von Teese | ||
| Background information | ||
| Other names: | Heather Sweet | |
| Born | Sep 28, 1972 (or 1975?) Rochester, MI USA 
| |
| Occupation: | Burlesque star / Model | |
| Website: | http://www.dita.net | |
| Height: | 5' 8" (1.73m) | |
| Weight: | 112 lbs (51 kg) | |
| Measurments: | 32C-21-33 in (81C-53-83 cm) | |
| Hair color: | Black | |
| Eye color: | Green/brown | |
| Ethnicity: | Caucasian | |
- This article is about a porn star
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SIGNY Award in 2003 for Best Bondage Model - 17th Place |
Dita Von Teese (born Heather Renée Sweet on September 28, 1972 in Rochester, Michigan) is a popular American burlesque artist, and is generally credited as helping to revive the burlesque scene, and she is married to musician, Marilyn Manson
Biography
Dita Von Teese was born in a small town in Michigan and raised in a historic antique-filled home. Her mother was a manicurist and her father was a machinist.
Her fascination with 1940s cinema and classic retro style began at a young age and was fostered by her mother, who would buy clothes for Dita to dress up in. Her mother was a fan of old, Golden-era Hollywood films, and it was from her that Dita developed a fascination with the actresses of that day, especially Betty Grable, an actress that she frequently cites as her favourite.
She was classically trained as a ballet dancer from age five, and danced solo at age thirteen for a local ballet company. Though she originally wanted to be a ballerina, Dita states that "By 15 I was as good as I'd ever be". She was later to incorporate this element into her burlesque shows, where she frequently goes en pointe.
At age twelve she moved from Michigan to Orange County, California with her parents and her two sisters. Shortly after, her father left her mother. She later re-married.
As a teenager, Dita's mother took her to buy her first bra, made from plain white cotton, and gave her a plastic egg containing a pair of wrinkly, flesh-coloured tights. The young Dita was very disappointed. She had been hoping to receive beautiful lacy garments and stockings, as she had glimpsed in her father's ayboy]]s. This fuelled her passion for lingerie. She worked in a lingerie store as a salesgirl when she was fifteen, and eventually as a buyer. This was where she got her first corset.
In college she studied historic costuming and aspired to work as a stylist for period films. She is a trained costume designer.
She began her career in a local strip club when she was nineteen. Disappointed with the lack originality in all the other strippers' acts, Dita created a vintage-inspired look, with bee-hive hairstyle and elbow-length gloves, confusing and fascinating the clientele. Dita later became a fetish model and finally a burlesque star. Her retro pin-up look, frequently emulating Bettie Page in photo shoots, set her apart from most other fetish models.
Her official website, often referred to as one of the first model sites on the internet, was created in 1992 [1]
Her first name, Dita, is a tribute to silent film actress Dita Parlo. [2]
She was featured in Playboy magazine in 1999, 2001 and 2002. It was her Playboy cover in December of 2002 that gave her her last name. Originally known simply as 'Dita', Playboy insisted she use a last name. She picked "Von Treese" out of the phonebook, but it was misspelled "Von Teese". Dita, preferring the typo, adopted it as her name. Dita says that it is her appearances in Playboy that finally won her father's respect for her profession.
Von Teese has always been fond of wearing elaborate lingerie such as corsets and stockings from a young age, and in her words, "puts the tease back into striptease" with long, elaborate dance shows with props and characters, often inspired by 1930s and 1940s musicals and films. Some of her famous dances include a feather fan dance, and numbers involving a carousel horse, a giant powder compact, a filigree heart and a claw-toe bathtub with a working showerhead. Her signature show features a giant martini glass.
She is also an actress. In her early years she appeared in fetish-related movies such as Romancing Sara, Matter of Trust, in which she is billed as Heather Sweet, and also in two films by Andrew Blake: Pin Ups 2 and Decadence. Later, she appeared in more mainstream features, such as the 2005 short film, The Death of Salvador Dali, written by Delaney Bishop, which won best screenplay, best cinematography, and best Actress for Dita Von Teese at recent festivals, including SXSW (South by Southwest musical festival in Austin, Texas), Raindance Film Festival, Denmark Film Festival and Mill Valley Film Festival. She is also due to appear in the upcoming Saint Francis feature film, and The Boom Boom Room, due in 2007.
Dita frequents the front row of fashion shows, particularly Moschino and Marc Jacobs, labels she is often seen wearing. In the 2006, Milan Fashion Week, Dita was on the catwalk, opening the Moschino diffusion label, Moschino Cheap & Chic, autumn/winter 2006/7 show. She has also modeled for former-club kid Richie Rich's fashion label, Heatherette for Los Angeles Fashion Week, Spring 2004. Additionally, she became the face of Australian clothing range Wheels and Dollbaby for their 2006/7 Spring/Summer advertising campaign. She has appeared in Vanity Fair, Vogue magazine, Elle, and international issues of nearly every fashion magazine.
In spite of this, Dita states that she never uses a stylist. "The one time I hired a stylist, they picked up a pair of my 1940s shoes and said, "These would look really cute with jeans." I immediately said, 'You're out of here.'" She does her own make-up, and dyes her naturally blonde hair black at home.
Dita's first book which consisted of her opinions on the history burlesque and fetish, Burlesque and the Art of the Teese/Fetish and the Art of the Teese, was published in 2006 by HarperCollins. Vanity Fair called her "a Burlesque Superheroine."
Photo Gallery
- Dita von Teese images
Bondage I 012
Bondage II 011
Bondage V 010
Bondage V 015
Bondage VI 078
bondage vii 003
Champagne Glass
Filmography
| Movie Title | Distributor | Notes | Year | Formats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portions of this filmography from http://www.iafd.com | ||||
| Pin-ups 2 | Studio A Entertainment | LezOnly | 1999 | |
| Slick City | Gwen Media | NonSex | 2001 | |
| Tickle Party 2 | FM Concepts | NonSex | 2001 | |
Personal Life
Marilyn Manson had been a long time fan, and was a member of her website. They first met when he asked her to dance in one of his music videos. Though she was unable to, the two kept in contact. On Manson's 32nd birthday, in 2001 <ref>, she arrived with a bottle of absinthe, and they became a couple.
Manson proposed on March 22, 2004 and gave her a 1930s, 7-carat, European round-cut diamond engagement ring.
On December 3, 2005, they were married in a non-denominational ceremony at Gurteen Castle in Kilsheelan (County Tipperary), Ireland, the home of their friend, Gottfried Helnwein. The wedding was officiated by surrealist film director and comic book writer Alejandro Jodorowsky. They reportedly exchanged vows in front of approximately 60 guests, including burlesque sensation Catherine D'lish, Keanu Reeves, Lisa Marie Presley, Eric Szmanda, Jessicka of Jack Off Jill and Christian Hejnal of Scarling. She wore a royal purple silk taffeta gown, made by Vivienne Westwood, plus a tri-corned hat designed by Stephen Jones and matching Mr. Pearl corset. The reception music was provided by the retro German band "Palast Orchester mit Max Raabe". Guests were invited to participate in skeet shooting, archery and falconry in the days following the wedding.
The wedding pictures appeared in the May 2006 edition of Vogue magazine under the heading "The Bride Wore Purple".
The couple lived in Laurel Canyon with their four Devon Rex cats, Lily, Aleister, Edgar and Hermann, and two dachshunds, Greta and Eva.
On December 29, 2006 Von Teese filed for divorce from Manson citing "irreconcilable differences." <ref> It is rumored they broke up on Christmas Eve, and that Von Teese was not able to get in touch with Manson to inform him of her intentions of divorce. It is also rumored that the split was due to Manson's alcohol consumption <ref>. Von Teese is not seeking spousal support and seems to have no interest in his assets <ref>. The news broke for the public and for Manson on his birthday on January 5, 2007, when he was served the divorce papers.
Trivia
- She drives a 1939 Chrysler New Yorker and a 1965 Jaguar S-type <ref>
- Her measurements are 32-22-33, and her waist can be pulled down to 16 1/2 inches with a corset <ref>
- She states in her book that she stands at 5'6" and weighs 105 pounds.
- She has appeared in a Green Day music video for the song "Redundant" <ref>
- She also appears in the video for mOBSCENE by Marilyn Manson. <ref>
- In the Computer Game "Playboy: The Mansion" she appears to host a party for Hugh Hefner <ref>
- She appears on the cover of Midori's book: Midori, Craig Morey, The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage, Greenery Press, 2001. < ISBN:1890159387 Buy it from Amazon.com >.
Appearances in Playboy Special Editions
- Playboy's Lingerie Model Search February 1997.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 58 November 1997 (Mizuno) pages 8-9).
- Playboy's Real Sex February 1998.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 62 July 1998 (Mizuno, pages 14-15).
- Playboy's Body Language October 1998.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 64 November 1998 (pages 84-85).
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 66 March 1999.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 67 May 1999 - Mizuno (pages 28-29).
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 69 September 1999.
- Playboy's Girlfriends September 1999 (pages 76-81).
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 70 November 1999.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 72 March 2000.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 74 July 2000 (pages 68-69).
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 75 September 2000.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 78 March 2001.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 84 March 2002.
- Playboy's Sexy 100 February 2003.
References and further reading
"Burlesque and the Art of the Teese - publisher Regan Books < ISBN:0060591676 Buy it from Amazon.com >
External links
- Official website
- Video interview and footage of Dita Von Teese
- Dita Von Teese at HarperCollins Books
- The Dita Von Teese Fan Club
- P.O. Box 50414
- Irvine, CA 92619
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