Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star.
At the height of her acting career, she was one of the highest-paid stars in Hollywood and starred in a series of box-office hits, including Thin Ice (1937), Happy Landing, My Lucky Star (1938), Second Fiddle (1939) and Sun Valley Serenade (1941). ==Biography== ===Early life=== Henie was born in 1912 in Kristiania (now Oslo) Norway; she was the only daughter of Wilhelm Henie (1872–1937), a prosperous Norwegian furrier, and his wife, Selma Lochmann-Nielsen (1888–1961).
She then placed eighth in a field of eight at the 1924 Winter Olympics, at the age of eleven. Henie won the first of an unprecedented ten consecutive World Figure Skating Championships in 1927 at the age of fourteen.
She then placed eighth in a field of eight at the 1924 Winter Olympics, at the age of eleven. Henie won the first of an unprecedented ten consecutive World Figure Skating Championships in 1927 at the age of fourteen.
The results of 1927 World Championships, where Henie won in 3–2 decision (or 7 vs.
She also won six consecutive European championships from 1931 to 1936.
She was a three-time Olympic champion (1928, 1932, 1936) in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champion (1931–1936).
She defended her Olympic titles in 1932 and in 1936, and her world titles annually until 1936.
She was a three-time Olympic champion (1928, 1932, 1936) in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European champion (1931–1936).
She defended her Olympic titles in 1932 and in 1936, and her world titles annually until 1936.
She also won six consecutive European championships from 1931 to 1936.
However, she held off these competitors and went on to win her third Olympic title at the 1936 Winter Olympics, albeit in very controversial circumstances with Cecilia Colledge finishing a very close second.
Indeed, after the school figures section at the 1936 Olympic competition, Colledge and Henie were virtually neck and neck with Colledge trailing by just a few points.
Her innovative skating techniques and glamorous demeanor transformed the sport permanently and confirmed its acceptance as a legitimate sport in the Winter Olympics. ===Professional and film career=== After the 1936 World Figure Skating Championships, Henie gave up her amateur status and took up a career as a professional performer in acting and live shows.
While still a girl, Henie had decided that she wanted to move to California and become a movie star when her competitive days were over, without considering that her strong accent might hinder her acting ambitions. In 1936, following a successful ice show in Los Angeles orchestrated by her father to launch her film career, Hollywood studio chief Darryl Zanuck signed her to a long term contract at Twentieth Century Fox, which made her one of the highest-paid actresses of the time.
Happy Landing (1938) was her biggest box office hit. In addition to her film career at Fox from 1936 to 1943, Henie formed a business arrangement with Arthur Wirtz, who produced her touring ice shows under the name of "Hollywood Ice Revue".
In her revised 1954 biography, she states that no Norwegian judge was in the panel for the 1936 Olympics—as she was entitled to as a Norwegian.
The 1936 European Figure Skating Championships also took place in Berlin and neither Henie, Colledge, nor Megan Taylor paid obeisance to Hitler. In her film Everything Happens at Night (1939), Ray Milland and Robert Cummings star as rival reporters hot on the trail of Hugo Norden (Maurice Moscovich).
While her ice show numbers were still worth watching, the film received few distributors and poor reviews, ending her film career. Her autobiography Mitt livs eventyr was published in 1938.
She is buried with Onstad in Oslo on the hilltop overlooking the Henie Onstad Art Centre. ==Results== ===Ladies' singles=== ===Pairs=== (with Arne Lie) ==Awards== Inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame (1976). Inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame (1982). She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1938, at age 25, she became the youngest person to be made a knight first class of The Royal Norwegian Order of St.
Released on 22 December 1939, it was banned in Nazi Germany.Through her 1940 marriage to Dan Topping she had become an American citizen.
Throughout the 1940s, Henie and Wirtz produced lavish musical ice skating extravaganzas at Rockefeller Center's Center Theatre attracting millions of ticket buyers. At the height of her fame, Henie brought as much as $2 million per year from her shows and touring activities.
An English translation, Wings on My Feet, was released in 1940 and republished in a revised edition in 1954.
Released on 22 December 1939, it was banned in Nazi Germany.Through her 1940 marriage to Dan Topping she had become an American citizen.
Henie became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1940.
Happy Landing (1938) was her biggest box office hit. In addition to her film career at Fox from 1936 to 1943, Henie formed a business arrangement with Arthur Wirtz, who produced her touring ice shows under the name of "Hollywood Ice Revue".
These activities made her one of the wealthiest self-made women in the world in her time. Henie broke off her arrangement with Wirtz in 1950 and for the next three seasons produced her own tours under the name "Sonja Henie Ice Revue".
The collapse of a section of bleachers during a show in Baltimore, Maryland in 1952 compounded the tour's legal and financial woes. In 1953, Henie formed a new partnership with Morris Chalfen to appear in his European Holiday On Ice tour, which proved to be a great success.
The collapse of a section of bleachers during a show in Baltimore, Maryland in 1952 compounded the tour's legal and financial woes. In 1953, Henie formed a new partnership with Morris Chalfen to appear in his European Holiday On Ice tour, which proved to be a great success.
However, she made a triumphant return to Norway with the Holiday on Ice tour in 1953 and 1955.
An English translation, Wings on My Feet, was released in 1940 and republished in a revised edition in 1954.
In her revised 1954 biography, she states that no Norwegian judge was in the panel for the 1936 Olympics—as she was entitled to as a Norwegian.
However, she made a triumphant return to Norway with the Holiday on Ice tour in 1953 and 1955.
She produced her own show at New York's Roxy Theatre in January 1956.
However, a subsequent South American tour in 1956 was a disaster.
After her retirement in 1956, Henie and Onstad settled in Oslo and accumulated a large collection of modern art that formed the basis for the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter at Høvikodden in Bærum near Oslo. She studied in Oslo together with Martin Stixrud and Erna Andersen who was her competitor and skate club member. Henie was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the mid-1960s.
Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star.
The Norwegian Royal Family attended both events and indeed attended her funeral in 1969.
She died of the disease at age 57 in 1969 during a flight from Paris to Oslo.
At the time of her death, Henie was planning a comeback for a television special that would have aired in January 1970.
While Irina Slutskaya of Russia has held the record for most European titles among ladies' skaters since 2006, Henie still retains the record of most consecutive titles, sharing it with Katarina Witt of Eastern Germany/Germany (1983–1988). Towards the end of her career, she began to be strongly challenged by younger skaters including Cecilia Colledge, Megan Taylor, and Hedy Stenuf.
One of the airline's trademarks is having portraits of famous deceased Norwegians on the tails of its aircraft. In 2012, the Posten Norge (Norwegian postal service) issued two stamps featuring Sonja Henie. ==In popular culture== Henie was portrayed in the 2018 Anne Sewitsky film Sonja - The White Swan, shown at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. ==Works== ==References== ===Sources=== Andersen, Alf G.
As the Boeing 737-300 was being phased out, her picture was placed on the tail of a Boeing 737-800 of the same airline and in 2013 to the tail of Norwegian Air Shuttle's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
One of the airline's trademarks is having portraits of famous deceased Norwegians on the tails of its aircraft. In 2012, the Posten Norge (Norwegian postal service) issued two stamps featuring Sonja Henie. ==In popular culture== Henie was portrayed in the 2018 Anne Sewitsky film Sonja - The White Swan, shown at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. ==Works== ==References== ===Sources=== Andersen, Alf G.
One of the airline's trademarks is having portraits of famous deceased Norwegians on the tails of its aircraft. In 2012, the Posten Norge (Norwegian postal service) issued two stamps featuring Sonja Henie. ==In popular culture== Henie was portrayed in the 2018 Anne Sewitsky film Sonja - The White Swan, shown at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. ==Works== ==References== ===Sources=== Andersen, Alf G.
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