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Dita Von Teese

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Dita Von Teese (born Heather Renée Sweet on September 28, 1972) is a popular American burlesque artist, model and actress.

Early life[edit]

Dita Von Teese was born in Rochester, Michigan and raised in an historic, antique filled home.[1] Her mother was a manicurist and her father was a machinist.[2]

Von Teese is well known for her fascination with 1940s cinema and classic retro style, and this 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 favorite.

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, Von Teese states that "By 15 I was as good as I’d ever be".[2] 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. Von Teese attended University High School in Irvine.[3]

As a teenager, Von Teese'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. Von Teese says she was disappointed as she had been hoping to receive beautiful lacy garments and stockings, of the type she had glimpsed in her father's Playboy magazines. This fueled 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. Von Teese has been fond of wearing elaborate lingerie such as corsets and stockings since.

In college Von Teese studied historic costuming and aspired to work as a stylist for period films. She is a trained costume designer.[4]

Career[edit]

Von Teese began her career in a local strip club when she was nineteen. Disappointed with the lack of originality in all the other strippers' acts, Von Teese created a vintage-inspired look, with bee-hive hairstyle and elbow-length gloves, confusing and fascinating the clientele. During this time she began some glamour modelling, before she eventually became a fetish model. 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.[2] Since, Von Teese has maintained meticulous care to own the copyright to the majority of her images, very aware of what became of models, such as Bettie Page, who did not.

Von Teese achieved some level of recognition in the fetish world as a tightlacer. Through the wearing of a corset for many years, she had reduced her natural waistline to 22 inches, and can be laced down as far as 16 and a half inches.[5] A diminutive person already, Von Teese stands at only 5'3" and weighs 105 pounds.[6]

Von Teese appeared on a number of fetish magazine covers, including Bizarre and Marquis .[7] It was around this time when she appeared, bound and gagged, on the cover of Midori's book:The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage.

Von Teese 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", a tribute to silent film actress Dita Parlo,[3] 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.

However, it is her burlesque routines that she is best known for. Von Teese began performing burlesque in 1993[8] and, as a proponent of New Burlesque, has helped to popularize its revival. In her own words, she "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 more famous dances include a feather fan dance, inspired by burlesque dancer Sally Rand, and numbers involving a carousel horse, a giant powder compact, a filigree heart and a claw-toe bathtub with a working shower head. Her signature show features a giant martini glass.

Her burlesque career has included some memorable performances, including once performing at a benefit for the New York Academy of Art wearing nothing but $5 million worth of diamonds.[9] Additionally, Von Teese became the first ever guest star to perform at the Crazy Horse cabaret club in the show's history when she appeared there in October, 2006.[10]

Von Teese's first book which consisted of her opinions on the history of 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."

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 Von Teese at recent festivals, including SXSW, Raindance Film Festival and Mill Valley Film Festival. She is due to appear in the upcoming feature films Saint Francis and The Boom Boom Room, expected in 2007.

In addition to this, she has appeared in a number of music videos, including the video for the Green Day song "Redundant"[11] and the video for "mOBSCENE" by Marilyn Manson.[12]

In recent years the fashion world has come to accept her and her retro look, and she has appeared on a number of best-dressed lists.[13] Von Teese frequents the front row of fashion shows, particularly Moschino and Marc Jacobs, labels she is often seen wearing. She has also done various catwalk work. During Los Angeles Fashion Week, Spring 2004, she modeled for former-club kid Richie Rich's fashion label, Heatherette. In 2005 she appeared in the Autumn/Winter Ready-to-Wear show for Giambattista Valli, a former designer for Ungaro, in Paris. In the 2006 Milan Fashion Week, Von Teese was on the runway, opening for the Moschino diffusion label, Moschino Cheap & Chic, autumn/winter 2006/7 show. In 2007, she appeared twice in the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture show during the Paris Fashion Week. Additionally, she has starred in several ad campaigns. She appeared in Vivienne Westwood's spring/summer 2005 collection adverts and became the face of Australian clothing range Wheels and Dollbaby for their 2006/7 Spring/Summer advertising campaign. Currently, she is a spokesmodel for MAC Cosmetics. Von Teese has appeared in Vanity Fair, Vogue, Elle, and international issues of nearly every fashion magazine.

In spite of this, Von Teese 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.[2]

Personal life[edit]

Von Teese is a collector of vintage china, particularly eggcups and tea sets,[14] and she drives a 1939 Chrysler New Yorker and a 1965 Jaguar S-type[15]

Prior to her marriage, Von Teese had been romantically linked to guitarist Mike Ness of Social Distortion[16] and to actor Peter Sarsgaard.[17] She has also admitted to having several lesbian experiences including a long-term relationship with a woman when she was 20.[18]

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,[19] 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. Moschino designed an additional wardrobe for the rest of the weekend, exclusively for Von Teese. 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 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."[20] 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.[21] Von Teese is not seeking spousal support and seems to have no interest in his assets.[20] The news broke for the public and for Manson on his birthday on January 5, 2007, when he was served the divorce papers.

Filmography[edit]

Year Film Role Notes
1995 Romancing Sara Allison Credited as 'Heather Sweet'
1997 Matter of Trust Girl with C.T. Credited as 'Heather Sweet'
1999 Pin-Ups 2 Credited as 'Dita'
2000 Decadence Credited as 'Dita'
2001 Slick City: The Adventures of Lela Devin Lela Devin
Tickle Party: Volume 2 Credited as 'Dita'
2002 Bound in Stockings
Naked and Helpless
2004 Blooming Dahlia Elizabeth Curt
Lest We Forget: The Video Collection Girl In Martini Glass
2005 The Death of Salvador Dali Gala
2006 Saint Francis Soul, Pica Bernard
2007 The Boom Boom Room Adeline Winter Filming

Additionally, Von Teese was a featured guest on the sixth episode (original air date: October 25, 2006) of Cycle 7 of America's Next Top Model.[22]and as a coach in the Burlesque special of Faking It.[23]

Appearances in Playboy Special Editions[edit]

  • 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[edit]

  • Von Teese, Dita (2006). Burlesque and the Art of the Teese, Regan Books. ISBN.
  1. ↑ About Dita. Dita.net. URL accessed on 2007-03-22.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Naomi West. Art of the Teese. Telegraph.co.uk. URL accessed on 2007-02-17.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Katherine Nguyen. Dita Von Teese: Call her old-fashioned. ocregister.com. URL accessed on 2007-02-17.
  4. ↑ Kristen Dizon. Burlesque is Back. seattlepi.com. URL accessed on 2007-03-24.
  5. ↑ More Teese if you please. Yorkshire Evening Post. URL accessed on 2007-02-17.
  6. ↑ http://www.celebheights.com/s/Dita-Von-Teese-4005.html
  7. ↑ http://www.dita.net/credits.php
  8. ↑ Daniel Robert Epstein. Suicide Girls Interview. Tribe.net. URL accessed on 2007-03-19.
  9. ↑ http://www.queerty.com/queer/drag/diamonds-are-a-queens-best-friend-20051018.php
  10. ↑ DITA VON TEESE PERFORMS AT MGM GRAND'S CRAZY HORSE PARIS. freevegasguide.com. URL accessed on 2007-03-23.
  11. ↑ Didja Know: Useless Green Day facts. The Green Day Authority. URL accessed on 2007-02-17.
  12. ↑ Blair R. Fischer. Sweet (wet) dreams are Made of this: Marilyn Manson snaps nudes of modern-day fetish queen/girlfriend Dita von Teese. Playboy. URL accessed on 2007-02-17.
  13. ↑ Melissa Maynard. Woman of Global Style: Dita Von Teese. Factio-magazine.com.. URL accessed on 2007-03-20.
  14. ↑ Dita's Vintage Obsession. exposay.com. URL accessed on 2007-03-24.
  15. ↑ http://www.dita.net/bio.php
  16. ↑ Dita: Manson is Wonderful. contactmusic.com. URL accessed on 2007-02-17.
  17. ↑ Dita has explosive sex. The Sun Online. URL accessed on 2007-02-17.
  18. ↑ Rosanna Greenstreet. Q&A: Dita Von Teese. Guardian Unlimited. URL accessed on 2007-02-17.
  19. ↑ Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese Wed in Ireland. The Heirophant (originally People Magazine). URL accessed on 2007-02-17.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Rock star Manson set to divorce. BBC News. URL accessed on 2007-02-17.
  21. ↑ Richard Johnson; Paula Froelich and Bill Hoffman. Dita dumps messed-up Manson. New York Post. URL accessed on 2007-02-17.
  22. ↑ http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?episodeid=5984793&tvobjectid=100032&more=ucepisodelist
  23. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0931773/

External links[edit]


This article is based on a GNU FDL LGBT Wikia article: Von Teese Dita Von Teese LGBT
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