Baroness Daisy von Freyberg zu Eisenberg, known professionally as Daisy D'ora, (26 February 1913 – 12 June 2010) was a German

beauty queen A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

. Born in Potsdam, Germany to an impoverished

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

family, she began her career in silent films, performing in the 1929 film ''

Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing physi ...

'', starring

Louise Brooks Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...

, which became a worldwide success. She earned acclaim for her star turn in ''The Missing Testament'' (1929), and appeared in a number of German features before leaving the screen around 1930. Her stage name was coined as a result of the taboo among German aristocratic families against using family names in mainstream industries. In May 1931, she was encouraged to enter the

Miss Germany Miss Germany is a national beauty pageant in Germany. The contest was held for the first time in 1927. History In the past there were several organisations which claimed the title: In the 1920s already, German jurisdiction decided that the tit ...

pageant, which would, in turn, take her to the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

contest.

Death

D'ora died at age 97 on 12 June 2010 in Munich, Germany.Die Miss Germany von 1931 ist tot
mittelbayerische.de; accessed 1 July 2017. Her husband and their two children had died earlier.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1929) * ''

The Last Testament ''The Last Testament'' (german: Das verschwundene Testamant; cs, Ztracená závěť) is a 1929 German-Czech silent film directed by Rolf Randolf and starring Carlo Aldini, Daisy D'Ora, and Hans Junkermann. The film's art direction was by Heinri ...

'' (1929) * '' The Youths'' (1929) * ''

Hungarian Nights ''Hungarian Nights'' or ''Night Is Whispering'' (German: ''Es flüstert die Nacht'') is a 1929 German silent drama film directed by Victor Janson and starring Lil Dagover, Hans Stüwe and Alexander Murski.Parish p.131 The film's sets were desi ...

'' (1929) * '' The Man Without Love'' (1929) * '' Only on the Rhine '' (1930)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:D'ora, Daisy 1913 births 2010 deaths German baronesses German silent film actresses German socialites People from Potsdam 20th-century German actresses German beauty pageant winners Spouses of German politicians Royalty and nobility models Royalty and nobility actors