Million Dollar Mermaid: Annette Kellerman
Million Dollar Mermaid: Annette Kellerman, an exhibition featuring stunning costumes, memorabilia and movie footage relating to Australian celebrity swimmer Annette Kellerman (1886–1975) is now open.
Art Exhibition
previously on
at
Powerhouse Museum
in
New South Wales,
Australia.
From
Wednesday 10 August 2016 to Sunday 22 July 2018

Published by anonymous on Thursday 12 January 2017.
Contact the publisher.
Born in Sydney, Kellerman first attracted attention with a series of epic, long-distance swims, and later found international fame as a highly paid entertainer of the vaudeville stage and a star of American silent films.
At a time when female bathers were expected to wear several cumbersome garments, she advocated a practical one-piece swimsuit and encouraged women to enjoy swimming and exercise. She became a trailblazer for the ‘new woman’, pioneering women’s high diving and paving the way for synchronised swimming.
In films such as Neptune’s Daughter (1914) she played a bold, fearless heroine and performed dangerous stunts. Esther Williams portrayed Annette Kellerman in MGM’s spectacular film, Million Dollar Mermaid (1952).
Exhibition highlights include a spectacular mermaid costume from Million Dollar Mermaid and various styles of one-piece swimsuits worn by Kellerman.