Known For: Acting
Born: July 6, 1887
Place of Birth: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died: November 5, 1975

Annette Kellerman

Australian-born swimming champion and actress, she played a significant role in the popularization of swimming as a sport, especially for women. Also known as "The Million Dollar Mermaid". Born Annette Marie Sarah Kellerman in Sydney, Australia, on July 6, 1886; died in Southport, Queensland, Australia, on the 6th November 1975; married James R. Sullivan (her manager), in 1912. She suffered from a form of Poliomyelitis that had left her partially crippled as a child. She had to wear an iron brace up to her hips. Her father pushed her to swim as a therapeutic means of overcoming this condition. Her legs were normal by the time she was 13 as a result. She began swimming competions while still a teenager and won the New South Wales swimming championships in 1902. She went to England in 1904 with her father and she won a 26-mile race on the Thames. With her brother as manager, came to U.S…