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Esther Williams

Esther Williams

Known For Acting
Birthday Aug 08, 1921
Died Jun 06, 2013 (91)
Birthplace Inglewood, California, USA
Popularity 0.5 (history)
Updated Dec 19, 2024
Entry Date Apr 13, 2024
Links TMDb IMDb
Biography

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.

Known For

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Filmography

That's Dancing!

That's Dancing!

1985

as From 'Bathing Beauty' (archive footage)

That's Entertainment, Part II

That's Entertainment, Part II

1976

as (archive footage)

That's Entertainment!

That's Entertainment!

1974

as (archive footage)

The Big Show

The Big Show

1961

as Hillary Allen

Raw Wind in Eden

Raw Wind in Eden

1958

as Laura

Andy Hardy Comes Home

Andy Hardy Comes Home

1958

as Sheila Brooks (archive footage) (uncredited)

The Unguarded Moment

The Unguarded Moment

1956

as Lois Conway

Jupiter's Darling

Jupiter's Darling

1955

as Amytis

Easy to Love

Easy to Love

1953

as Julie Hallerton

Dangerous When Wet

Dangerous When Wet

1953

as Katy Higgins

Skirts Ahoy!

Skirts Ahoy!

1952

as Whitney Young

Million Dollar Mermaid

Million Dollar Mermaid

1952

as Annette Kellerman

Texas Carnival

Texas Carnival

1951

as Debbie Telford

Callaway Went Thataway

Callaway Went Thataway

1951

as Esther Williams (uncredited)

Pagan Love Song

Pagan Love Song

1950

as Mimi Bennett

Duchess of Idaho

Duchess of Idaho

1950

as Christine Riverton Duncan

Neptune's Daughter

Neptune's Daughter

1949

as Eve Barrett

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

1949

as K.C. Higgins

On an Island with You

On an Island with You

1948

as Rosalind Rennolds

Fiesta

Fiesta

1947

as Maria Morales

This Time for Keeps

This Time for Keeps

1947

as Nora Cambaretti

The Hoodlum Saint

The Hoodlum Saint

1946

as Kay Lorrison

Easy to Wed

Easy to Wed

1946

as Connie Allenbury

Till the Clouds Roll By

Till the Clouds Roll By

1946

as Esther Williams - Signing Autographs (uncredited)

Thrill of a Romance

Thrill of a Romance

1945

as Cynthia Glenn

Ziegfeld Follies

Ziegfeld Follies

1945

as Esther Williams (segment "A Water Ballet")

Bathing Beauty

Bathing Beauty

1944

as Caroline Marie Brooks

Twenty Years After

Twenty Years After

1944

as (archive footage)

A Guy Named Joe

A Guy Named Joe

1943

as Ellen Bright

Inflation

Inflation

1942

as Mrs. Smith

Andy Hardy's Double Life

Andy Hardy's Double Life

1942

as Sheila Brooks

Personalities

Personalities

1942

as Sheila Brooks (screen test footage) (uncredited)

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Organization Category Movie
Television Credits

Lux Video Theatre

as Vicki

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1950

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Sarah Harmon

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 05, 1956

The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self

Episodes: 4

First Aired: Jun 20, 1948

MGM: When the Lion Roars

Episodes: 3

First Aired: Mar 22, 1992

What's My Line?

as Self - Mystery Guest

Episodes: 3

First Aired: Feb 02, 1950

The Rosie O'Donnell Show

as Self

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Jun 10, 1996

The Steve Allen Show

as Self - Swimmer

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Jun 24, 1956

The Oscars

as Self

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Mar 19, 1953

Omnibus

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 09, 1952

Private Screenings

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Unknown

The Donna Reed Show

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 24, 1958

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 05, 1956

Pebble Mill

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 14, 1991

Querida Concha

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 08, 1992

The Jimmy Durante Show

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1954

MGM Parade

as Self - Water Ballerina in 'Ziegfeld Follies' (archive footage)

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 14, 1955

Burt Reynolds' Conversations with...

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Aug 29, 1991

The Big Party

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 08, 1959

What's My Line?

as Self - Panelist

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Feb 02, 1950

Reflets de Cannes

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Mar 25, 1954

Parkinson

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 09, 1998

Popularity Metrics

Popularity History


Year Month Avg Max Min
2024 6 10 18 5
2024 7 12 20 6
2024 8 11 21 4
2024 9 7 13 2
2024 10 5 11 3
2024 11 4 8 1
2024 12 5 8 2
2025 1 8 19 3
2025 2 4 7 1
2025 3 3 4 1
2025 5 1 2 1
2025 6 1 1 1
2025 7 0 0 0
2025 8 1 8 0
2025 9 0 0 0
2025 10 0 0 0

Trending Rank


Year Month Avg Rank Max Rank
No trending metrics available.

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