Sportswomen of the Screen

        Many famous actresses were also excellent athletes, both on- and off-screen. Here's an appreciation of four of these women.

Esther Williams 

Esther Williams was known as Hollywood's "Million Dollar Mermaid" after the 1952 film she starred in. A competitive swimmer from an early age, she had won three US National championships in breaststroke and freestyle by age 16. Esther planned to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics before it was canceled when World War II broke out. She was discovered by MGM talent scouts while in Billy Rose's Aquacade, a singing, dancing, and swimming troupe. Her career in movies was defined by her starring roles in "aquamusicals" with elaborate synchronized swimming scenes, such as Neptune's Daughter and Dangerous When Wet.

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn was a noted athlete who enjoyed swimming, tennis, running, diving, and golfing. She took frequent golf lessons as a child and made it to the semi-finals of the Connecticut Young Women's Golf Championship. In the 1952 film Pat and Mike, where she plays a champion athlete, she does all of her own tennis and golf scenes.

Sonja Henie

 Though her professional ice skating career ended in the late 1930s, Sonja Henie remains the only woman to hold three consecutive Olympic gold medals in ladies' singles. Beginning in 1927 when she was only fourteen, Sonja won 10 consecutive World Figure Skating Championships. Norwegian-born Sonja rose to international fame and launched figure skating into the realm of competitive sports. She is credited with introducing short-skirted skating attire and even the now-ubiquitous white ice skates. Sonja moved to California to pursue a film career, which proved to be tremendously successful. Her films, such as Thin Ice, Wintertime, and It's a Pleasure, showcased her skating ability and were huge box-office draws. At the height of her fame she was one of Hollywood's highest-paid stars.

 Ginger Rogers 

Look up the competitors of the 1950 US Open and you'll find a name that may surprise you. It's Ginger Rogers! That year, Hollywood's song-and-dance star competed in the mixed-doubles tennis championships alongside Frank Shields (Brooke Shields' grandfather.) Ginger often won tennis competitions among the film stars in Hollywood. She had an "en-tout-cas" (clay) tennis court at her house which was quite rare at the time, and tennis stars the likes of Billie Jean King would come to her court to practice.