8
Born · August 8, 1921
Died · June 6, 2013 (91 years old)
Known For: Acting
Place of Birth: Inglewood, California, USA
Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics because of the outbreak of World War II, she joined Billy Rose's Aquacade, where she took on the role vacated by Eleanor Holm after the show's move from New York City to San Francisco. While in the city, she spent five months swimming alongside Olympic gold-medal winner and Tarzan star Johnny Weissmuller. Williams caught the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer scouts at the Aquacade. After appearing in several small roles, and alongside Mickey Rooney in an Andy Hardy film and future five-time co-star Van Johnson in A Guy Named Joe, Williams made a series of films in the 1940s and early 1950s known as "aquamusicals", which featured elaborate performances with synchronised swimming and diving. Every year from 1945 to 1949, Williams had at least one film among the 20 highest-grossing films of the year. In 1952, Williams appeared in her only biographical role, as Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman in Million Dollar Mermaid, which went on to become her nickname while she was at MGM. Williams left MGM in 1956 and appeared in a handful of unsuccessful feature films, followed by several extremely popular water-themed network television specials, including one from Cypress Gardens, Florida. Williams was also a successful businesswoman. Before retiring from acting, she invested in a "service station, a metal products plant, a manufacturer of bathing suits, various properties and a successful restaurant chain known as Trails." She lent her name to a line of swimming pools, retro swimwear, and instructional swimming videos for children, and served as a commentator for synchronized swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Description above from the Wikipedia article Esther Williams, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Self (archive footage)
0.0
2024
Self
2.0
2004
Self
0.0
2003
Self (archive footage)
7.7
2002
Herself (archive footage)
0.0
2002
Self (archive footage)
0.0
2000
Self
6.7
1998
Self · (1 episode)
0.0
1998
Self · (2 episodes)
3.5
1996
Self - Co-Host / Narrator
6.9
1994
(1 episode)
0.0
1992
(3 episodes)
7.8
1992
Self · (1 episode)
3.1
1991
Self · (1 episode)
6.0
1991
Self
6.6
1990
Self - Actress (archive footage)
6.0
1990
Self
8.0
1985
From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)
7.0
1985
(archive footage)
6.8
1976
(archive footage)
7.2
1974
Self (archive footage)
6.0
1972
Hyacinth Tower
0.0
1963
Hillary Allen
5.0
1961
Self · (1 episode)
0.0
1959
Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)
4.5
1958
(1 episode)
6.3
1958
Laura
5.1
1958
Lois Conway
6.2
1956
Self · (1 episode)
5.3
1956
Sarah Harmon · (1 episode)
5.5
1956
Self - Swimmer · (2 episodes)
5.0
1956
Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage) · (1 episode)
0.0
1955
Amytis
4.3
1955
Self · (1 episode)
0.0
1954
Self · (1 episode)
0.0
1954
Julie Hallerton
6.1
1953
Katy Higgins
6.0
1953
Self · (2 episodes)
7.0
1953
Annette Kellerman
6.4
1952
(1 episode)
6.0
1952
Whitney Young
5.0
1952
Esther Williams (uncredited)
5.1
1951
Debbie Telford
4.4
1951
Mimi Bennett
4.8
1950
Vicki · (1 episode)
6.0
1950
Christine Riverton Duncan
5.0
1950
Self (archive footage)
0.0
1950
Self (uncredited)
6.0
1950
Self - Mystery Guest · (3 episodes)
6.7
1950
Self - Panelist · (1 episode)
6.7
1950
Eve Barrett
5.8
1949
K.C. Higgins
6.7
1949
Self · (4 episodes)
6.6
1948
Rosalind Rennolds
5.3
1948
Nora Cambaretti
5.2
1947
Maria Morales
4.7
1947
Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)
5.6
1946
Connie Allenbury
6.2
1946
Kay Lorrison
5.2
1946
Esther Williams (segment "A Water Ballet")
6.1
1945
Herself
1.0
1945
Cynthia Glenn
6.2
1945
Caroline Marie Brooks
5.8
1944
(archive footage)
6.0
1944
Ellen Bright
6.5
1943
Sheila Brooks
4.6
1942
Mrs. Smith
5.0
1942
Sheila Brooks (screen test footage) (uncredited)
0.0
1942
Self · (1 episode)
7.5