1. Luise Rainer was the first thespian to win multiple Academy Awards, and the first to win back-to-back; at the time of her death, thirteen days shy of her 105th birthday, she was the longest-lived Oscar recipient, a superlative that has not been exceeded, as of 2025.
Luise Rainer was later dubbed the "Viennese teardrop" for her dramatic telephone scene in the film.
The daughter of Heinrich and Emilie Luise Rainer, known familiarly as "Heinz" and "Emmy", Luise Rainer was born on 12 January 1910 in Dusseldorf, Germany and raised in Hamburg and later in Vienna, Austria.
Luise Rainer had two brothers and was a premature baby, born two months early.
Luise Rainer describes her father as being "possessive" and "tempestuous", but whose affections and concern were centered on her.
Luise Rainer seemed to him as "eternally absent-minded" and "very different".
Luise Rainer remembers his "tyrannical possessiveness", and was saddened to see her mother, "a beautiful pianist, and a woman of warmth and intelligence and deeply in love with her husband, suffering similarly".
Luise Rainer said she became an actress to help expend her physical and overly emotional energy.
Luise Rainer feared she might develop what she saw as her mother's "inferiority complex".
Luise Rainer was only six when she decided to become part of the entertainment world, and recalled being inspired by watching a circus act:.
At age 16, Luise Rainer chose to follow her dream to become an actress; under the pretext of visiting her mother, she traveled to Dusseldorf for a prearranged audition at the Dumont Theater.
Luise Rainer later began studying acting with Max Reinhardt, and, by the time she was 18, there was already an "army of critics" who felt that she had unusual talent for a young actress.
Luise Rainer soon became a distinguished Berlin stage actress as a member of Reinhardt's Vienna theater ensemble.
Luise Rainer thought she would appeal to the same audience as Swedish MGM star Greta Garbo.
Luise Rainer moved to Hollywood in 1935 as a hopeful new star.
Luise Rainer received the part after Myrna Loy gave up her role halfway through filming.
Powell, impressed by Luise Rainer's acting skill, had given her equal billing in Escapade.
Luise Rainer was criticized for not resembling the Polish-born stage performer.
The director admitted that the main reason Luise Rainer was cast was her eyes, claiming that they "are just as large, just as lustrous, and contain the same tantalizing quality of pseudo naughtiness" the part required.
Luise Rainer "so impressed audiences with one highly emotional scene," wrote biographer Charles Affron, that she received the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Luise Rainer is one of the most natural persons I have ever known.
Luise Rainer is an extremely sensitive organism and has a great comprehension of human nature.
Luise Rainer has judgment and an abiding understanding which make it possible for her to portray human emotion poignantly and truly.
Luise Rainer thinks over every shade of emotion to make it ring true.
Luise Rainer was awarded the New York Film Critics' Award for the role.
Luise Rainer's comparative muteness, stated historian Andrew Sarris, was "an astounding tour de force after her hysterically chattering telephone scene in The Great Ziegfeld", and contributed to her winning her second Best Actress Oscar.
Luise Rainer was allowed to act "genuine, honest, and down-to-earth," she said.
The Emperor's Candlesticks, in which Luise Rainer was cast in November 1936, reunited Luise Rainer with Powell for the final time.
Luise Rainer made her final film appearance for MGM in 1938 and abandoned the film industry.
Luise Rainer returned to the stage and made her first appearance at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, on 1 May 1939 as Francoise in Jacques Deval's play Behold the Bride; she played the same part in her London debut at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 23 May Returning to America, she played the lead in George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan on 10 March 1940 at the Belasco Theatre in Washington, DC under the direction of German emigrant director Erwin Piscator.
Luise Rainer made an appearance in Hostages in 1943 and abandoned film making in 1944 after marrying publisher Robert Knittel.
Luise Rainer initially did not plan on returning to the screen, but explained her comeback in 1943 by saying:.
When Luise Rainer returned to Hollywood, her contract at MGM had long expired and she had no agent.
Luise Rainer took her oath of allegiance to the United States in the 1940s, but she and Knittel lived in the UK and Switzerland for most of their marriage.
Luise Rainer had two granddaughters, Luisa and Nicole, and two great-grandchildren, Luca and Hunter.
Luise Rainer took a dual role in a 1984 episode of The Love Boat.
Luise Rainer appeared in The Gambler in a small role, marking her film comeback at the age of 86.
Luise Rainer made appearances at the 1998 and 2003 Academy Awards ceremonies as part of special retrospective tributes to past Oscar winners.
On 12 January 2010, Luise Rainer celebrated her centenary in London.
Luise Rainer appeared onstage at the National Theatre, where she was interviewed by Sir Christopher Frayling.
Luise Rainer has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6300 Hollywood Boulevard.
On 5 September 2011, then 101-year-old Luise Rainer travelled to Berlin to receive a star on the Boulevard der Stars.
Luise Rainer's star was among the 21 stars issued in 2011 and followed the 20 that were issued in 2010.
Luise Rainer had been forgotten when the Boulevard der Stars opened in 2010, despite being Germany's only Academy Award-winning actress.
Luise Rainer died at her London home on 30 December 2014 at the age of 104 from pneumonia.
Luise Rainer was 13 days shy of her 105th birthday.
Luise Rainer spent her final years living in a flat formerly occupied by actress Vivien Leigh at 54 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London.