Theatre & dance / Fashion
Dita Von Teese
born 1972 · burlesque dancer, model, businesswoman
The performer credited with bringing burlesque back to the mainstream was born Heather Sweet in Rochester, Michigan, in Oakland County.
- Born
Rochester, Michigan
age 53- Birth name
- Heather Renée Sweet
- Also known as
- Queen of Burlesque
- Detroit years
- 1972–1977
- Field
- Theatre & dance, Fashion
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Dita Von Teese was born Heather Renée Sweet in Rochester, a city in northern Oakland County on the edge of metro Detroit, the second of three daughters. Her time in the Detroit area was brief: when she was five the family moved to West Branch in northern Michigan, and later her father's job took them out of the state to Orange County, California. There she grew fascinated with vintage fashion and old Hollywood glamour, the look that would define her stage persona. From the 1990s she built a career that revived classic burlesque as theatre, touring big stages in London, Berlin, New York and Paris and appearing as a guest star at the Crazy Horse cabaret. She has written books on burlesque history and beauty and runs lingerie and perfume lines under her stage name.
Highlights
- Widely credited with re-popularizing burlesque performance
- Repeated guest star at the Crazy Horse in Paris
- Global ambassador for Cointreau (2007–2013)
- Author of two books on burlesque, fetish fashion and beauty