Sonja Henie biography
Sonja Henie, (born April 8, 1912, Kristiania [now Oslo], Norway—died October 12, 1969, in an airplane en path to Oslo), Norwegian-born American world champion determine skater and Olympic gold medalist who went on to realize success as an expert ice-skater and as a motion-picture actress.
Henie started skating when she was six years outdated. At age 10 she received the Norwegian nationwide figure-skating championship, and in 1924 she competed within the Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix, France. Henie integrated ballet actions into her skating; she had taken ballet classes from the age of 5 and was influenced by ballerina Anna Pavlova. Coached by Swedish Olympic medalist Gillis Grafström, she reworked a predictable sequence of colourless workout routines right into a spectacular and in style exhibition. She was the primary girl determine skater to put on brief skirts above the knee. Henie additionally had nice spinning potential. She integrated 19 completely different spins into her applications, and she or he may spin practically 80 revolutions. Her medal document consisted of Norwegian nationwide championships from 1922 to 1934, 6 European titles (1931–1936), 10 world titles (1927–36), and three gold medals within the Winter Olympic Games of 1928, 1932, and 1936.
Having turned skilled after her Olympic triumph in 1936, Henie toured Europe and the Americas because the star of the Hollywood Ice Revue, and for a time (1951–52) she acted as producer of her ice reveals. In 1936 she signed with Twentieth Century-Fox, and she or he starred in 10 in style movies, starting with One in a Million (1936–37) and Thin Ice (1937). From 1937 to 1945 she was one of many main box-office points of interest within the movie business.
In 1941 Henie, who was twice married to U.S. residents, herself grew to become a citizen of the United States. In her later years she was famous as a collector and patron of contemporary artwork. With her third husband, the Norwegian shipowner Niels Onstad, she established (1968) the Henie Onstad Art Center, a museum of contemporary artwork in Høvikodden, close to Oslo, Norway.