Anna Held(1872-1918)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Anna Held was born Helene Anna Held on March 8, 1872 (some sources say 1873) in Warsaw, Poland, the youngest of eleven children in a Jewish family. Her family moved to France, where her father died from alcoholism when she was twelve years old. She began her career singing in Europe. Her signature song was "Won't You Come And Play With Me." In 1894, she married Maximo Carrerra, a wealthy South American adventurer. Their daughter, Liane, was born the following year.
While performing in London in 1886 she met producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. He brought her to New York and the two began a passionate affair. Held quickly became one of Broadway's most popular stars. She starred in the hit shows A Parlor Match, Papa's Wife, and Miss Innocence. Audiences loved her voice and her risque performances. Her lavish stage shows were the inspiration for the Ziegfeld Follies. The press reported that she bathed in milk every day and had a rib removed to achieve her perfect hourglass figure (her waist was only eighteen inches).
Maximo Carrera, her estranged husband, died in 1908. Although she referred to Ziegfeld as her husband the two never legally married and he broke her heart with his infidelity. When she became pregnant he convinced her to have an abortion. The couple ended their relationship in 1909 after he fell in love with Lillian Lorraine. In 1916, Held made the feature length film Madame la Presidente (1916), playing Mademoiselle Gobette, for which she was paid $30,000. Later, she appeared in the Broadway musical Follow Me.
During WWI, she went to France to entertain the soldiers. She was diagnosed with cancer in early 1918. On August 12, 1918, aged 46, she died of multiple myeloma. She was buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York. Florenz Ziegfeld was criticized in the press for not attending her funeral.
While performing in London in 1886 she met producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. He brought her to New York and the two began a passionate affair. Held quickly became one of Broadway's most popular stars. She starred in the hit shows A Parlor Match, Papa's Wife, and Miss Innocence. Audiences loved her voice and her risque performances. Her lavish stage shows were the inspiration for the Ziegfeld Follies. The press reported that she bathed in milk every day and had a rib removed to achieve her perfect hourglass figure (her waist was only eighteen inches).
Maximo Carrera, her estranged husband, died in 1908. Although she referred to Ziegfeld as her husband the two never legally married and he broke her heart with his infidelity. When she became pregnant he convinced her to have an abortion. The couple ended their relationship in 1909 after he fell in love with Lillian Lorraine. In 1916, Held made the feature length film Madame la Presidente (1916), playing Mademoiselle Gobette, for which she was paid $30,000. Later, she appeared in the Broadway musical Follow Me.
During WWI, she went to France to entertain the soldiers. She was diagnosed with cancer in early 1918. On August 12, 1918, aged 46, she died of multiple myeloma. She was buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York. Florenz Ziegfeld was criticized in the press for not attending her funeral.
