Esther Williams was one of the greatest swimmers of the early 20th Century, and also was a Hollywood film star during the 1940s and 1950s. Some of her films were “aquamusicals,” which featured her intricate performances that combined synchronized swimming and diving.
A swimmer in her youth, Esther Jane Williams won a gold medal in the 300-meter medley relay in the 1939 Amateur Athletic Union Championship. By the time she was 17, Williams had won three gold medals and earned a place on the 1940 U.S. Olympic Team. Unfortunately, her dreams of competing in the Olympics were wiped away because of World War II.
Instead, she drew on her extensive swimming talent to become a movie star, following in the footsteps of Sonja Henie, a Norwegian ice skater who transitioned into a movie star. While Henie starred in skating movies, Williams starred in many films that featured pools, lakes, water skis, and fountains. Williams’ first big movie was released in 1944, titled Bathing Beauty. It was the first big aqua musical in which Williams donned a pink one-piece swimsuit with a pink bow in her hair.
Esther Williams: No one had ever done a swimming movie before. So we just made it up as we went along. I ad-libbed all my underwater movements.
The films continued for Williams. Films, including Take Me Out to the Ball Game, in which she played the owner of a baseball team. Other films included Easy to Wed (1946), Neptune’s Daughter (1949), Dangerous When Wet (1953), and The Unguarded Moment (1956).
Her most popular movie was Million Dollar Mermaid, released in 1952. Williams portrayed Annette Kellerman, an Australian swimming and diving star. Williams wore 50,000 gold sequins and a golden crown. The crown was made of metal, and as Williams did a swan dive into a 50-foot platform, her head snapped back when she hit the water. As a result, Williams broke her back and was in a cast for 6 months.
Williams retired from acting in the early 1960s and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1966. She turned down a part in The Poseidon Adventure, which included a crucial swimming scene. Later, after losing her husband, Fernando Lamas, Williams decided to re-engage in public roles, including serving as a commentator for synchronized swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Williams was also a businessperson, including as the namesake for a successful company that manufactured aboveground swimming pools, and a line of retro women’s swimwear.
Williams co-wrote an autobiography entitled The Million Dollar Mermaid. She passed away in 2013 at the age of 91.
