Marguerite Hélène Barbe Elisabeth Constantine Lion (28 February 1899 – 24 February 1989), known as Margo Lion, was a Jewish singer and actress. She was born in Constantinople during Ottoman rule. She moved to Berlin after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with her father to join the school of Russian ballet. When the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

rose to power in 1933 she moved to France to flee antisemitic persecution. She was a successful

chanteuse Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Engli ...

, parodist, cabaret singer, and actress, best known for her role as

Pirate Jenny "Pirate Jenny" (German: "") is a well-known song from ''The Threepenny Opera'' by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. The English lyrics are by Marc Blitzstein. It is probably the second most famous song in the opera, after " Mack the Knife". ...

in director

G. W. Pabst Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic. ...

's 1931 French language adaptation of

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

and

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

's '' Threepenny Opera'' (''Die Dreigroschenoper''). She appeared in several

French films This is a list of films produced in the French cinema, ordered by year and decade of release on separate pages. Before 1910 *List of French films before 1910 1910s * List of French films of 1910 * List of French films of 1911 * List of Fren ...

until the early 1970s, including ''Docteur Françoise Gailland'', ''L'Humeur Vagabonde'', ''La Faute De L'Abbe Mouret'', ''Le Petit Matin'', ''Le Fou Du Labo'', ''Julie La Rousse'', and the French romantic melodrama ''

Martin Roumagnac ''Martin Roumagnac'' (also known as ''The Room Upstairs'') is a 1946 French crime film directed by Georges Lacombe. It tells the story of a builder in a small town who falls for a glamorous but treacherous femme fatale, with tragic results fo ...

'', which starred

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

. Lion and Dietrich sang a famous duet, "Wenn die beste Freundin mit der besten Freundin", a song which allegedly had lesbian overtones. It became a hit in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

prior to Dietrich's departure for Hollywood.

Death

Lion died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1989, four days before her 90th birthday.

Selected filmography

* ''

Calais-Dover ''Calais-Dover'' (french: Calais-Douvres) is a 1931 French-German comedy film directed by Jean Boyer and Anatole Litvak and starring Lilian Harvey, André Roanne and Armand Bernard.Bock & Bergfelder p. 455 It is the French-language version of th ...

'' (1931) * '' 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman'' (1931) * ''

The Trunks of Mr. O.F. ''The Trunks of Mr. O.F.'' (German: ''Die Koffer des Herrn O.F.'') is a 1931 German comedy film directed by Alexis Granowsky and starring Alfred Abel, Peter Lorre, and Harald Paulsen. Produced by Tobis Film, it was made at the Johannisthal Studio ...

'' (1931) * ''

I Go Out and You Stay Here ''I Go Out and You Stay Here'' (german: Ich geh' aus und Du bleibst da) is a 1931 German comedy film directed by Hans Behrendt and starring Camilla Horn, Berthe Ostyn, and Hermine Sterler. A separate French-language film was also produced. The ...

'' (1931) * '' The Big Attraction'' (1931) * ''

No More Love "No More Love" is a song by the band God Lives Underwater. It was originally released on their self-titled EP album ''God Lives Underwater'' in 1995, resulting in significant airplay. The song was featured in the 1995 movie ''Johnny Mnemonic ...

'' (1931) * ''

Narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Magic Top Hat ''The Magic Top Hat'' (german: Der Glückszylinder) is a 1932 German comedy film directed by Rudolf Bernauer and starring Charlotte Ander, Felix Bressart and Oskar Sima.Hake p. 142 It was shot at the Grunewald Studios in Berlin., The film's sets ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Song of Night ''The Song of Night'' (German: ''Das Lied einer Nacht'') is a 1932 German musical comedy film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Jan Kiepura, Magda Schneider and Fritz Schulz.Murphy p.381 It was made at the Babelsberg Studios in Berlin. Th ...

'' (1932) * ''

The Faceless Voice ''The Faceless Voice'' (French: ''La voix sans visage'') is a 1933 French drama film directed by Leo Mittler and starring Lucien Muratore, Véra Korène and Jean Servais.Oscherwitz & Higgins p. 281 Plot The singer Saltore is accused of murder ...

'' (1933) * '' And Who Is Kissing Me?'' (1933) * '' The Red Dancer'' (1937) * ''

Claudine at School ''Claudine at School'' (french: Claudine à l'école) is a 1900 novel by the French writer Colette. The narrative recounts the final year of secondary school of 15-year-old Claudine, her brazen confrontations with her headmistress, Mlle Sergent, ...

'' (1937) * '' The Man from Nowhere'' (1937) * ''

The Lafarge Case ''The Lafarge Case'' (French: ''L'Affaire Lafarge'') is a 1938 French historical crime film directed by Pierre Chenal and starring Pierre Renoir, Marcelle Chantal and Raymond Rouleau. It recalls a famous nineteenth century case, and is mostly p ...

'' (1938) * ''

'' (1946) * ''

Devil and the Angel ''Devil and the Angel'' (French: ''La foire aux chimères'') is a 1946 French drama film directed by Pierre Chenal and starring Madeleine Sologne, Erich von Stroheim and Louis Salou.Lennig p.437 It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris. ...

'' (1946) * '' The Dance of Death'' (1948) * '' Woman Without a Past'' (1948) * ''

The Woman I Murdered ''The Woman I Murdered'' (French: ''La femme que j'ai assassinée'') is a 1948 French drama film directed by Jacques Daniel-Norman and starring Armand Bernard, Pierre Larquey and Micheline Francey.Bessy & Chirat p.459 The film's sets were designe ...

'' (1948) * ''

Quay of Grenelle ''Quay of Grenelle'' (French: ''Quai de Grenelle'') is a 1950 French crime drama film directed by Emil-Edwin Reinert and starring Henri Vidal, Maria Mauban and Françoise Arnoul.Goble p.275 It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris. The f ...

'' (1950) * ''

Ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

'' (1950) * ''

Flesh and the Woman ''Flesh and the Woman'' (french: Le Grand Jeu) is a 1954 French-Italian drama film directed by Robert Siodmak. It was entered into the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. It was released in the USA under the title ''Flesh and the Woman'', and in the UK a ...

'' (1954) * ''

La Famille Anodin ''The Anodin Family'' french: La Famille Anodin, is a French TV serial, in 8 episodes of 45 minutes, from 1956, on RTF. Cast * Alfred Adam * Claude Albers *Blanchette Brunoy *Jean-Pierre Cassel *Colette Castel *Yvonne Clech *Pierre Dac *Lo ...

'' (1956) *''

Julie the Redhead ''Julie the Redhead'' (French: ''Julie la rousse'') is a 1959 French comedy film directed by Claude Boissol and starring Daniel Gélin, Pascale Petit and Margo Lion.Katz p.909 The film's sets were designed by the art director Robert Guisgand. ...

'' (1959) * ''

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lola ...

'' (1961) * ''

Nick Carter va tout casser ''Nick Carter va tout casser'' is a French action film starring Eddie Constantine as Nick Carter. An English version was dubbed by Eddie Constantine dubbing himself. Constantine repeated his role in '' Nick Carter et le trèfle rouge'' (1965). ...

'' (1964) * ''

Coplan Takes Risks ''Coplan Takes Risks'' (French: ''Coplan prend des risques'') is a 1964 spy film directed by Maurice Labro and starring Dominique Paturel, Virna Lisi and Jacques Balutin.Van Heuckelom p.266 It was made as a co-production between Belgium, Franc ...

'' (1964)

External links

* 1899 births 1989 deaths Cabaret singers French film actresses 20th-century French actresses 20th-century French women singers Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Germany {{Germany-singer-stub