She was a lovely actress and dancer, and is a joy to watch. Dancers are at a much higher risk as are actresses. Her lovely but very thin thighs also lends credence to the likelihood that she silently battled this deadly disease. The protrusion of the shoulder bones is impossible to hide. The easiest spot to see the difference between healthy active thin and anorexic is the shoulders/neck area. DeleteĪs a recovering anorexic woman, I had no doubt from the first time I saw Vera Ellen that she was almost certainly anorexic. not like we are watching today.quit hating and give them their props.
I would have loved to have met her.so all those that want to spread rumors or think badly of those great actors,singers and dancers.just remember that is when real movies were great and an inspiration to the whole family. I was born in the baby boomer generation.White Christmas is and will always be my favorite movie.the reason I love it so much is VERA ELLEN.back then weight was very important to celebrities.and especially athletes and dancers.she was of a slightly shorter than average height and a brilliantly beautiful dancer of all versions of dance.you can't be that brilliant without many hours and years of practice.which keeps your figure toned and slender.she may have appeared more slender in person because it is said the camera adds pounds.but on film and camera she looks like a totally toned and perfectly proportioned beautiful lady. Her friend Bill Dennington supplied the following personal photos, which supply a rare and treasured look at how beautiful and spirited she remained: It should be stated that while Vera-Ellen did definitely age, as she dropped out of sight, she aged with grace. She would divorce her second husband, Victor Rothschild a few years later in 1966. Understandably, this was a very traumatic event, and helps to understand why she withdrew from public life. She also had a daughter, Victoria Ellen Rothschild, who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Many people have asked why Vera-Ellen always covers her neck in "White Christmas" - it is assumed that her neck is where she started to visibly age. One side effect of anorexia is rapid aging.
She made appearances on TV and in Las Vegas for a few years before finally retiring. Although Vera-Ellen could act as well as dance, MGM didn't take her talents seriously enough to give her many non-dancing parts. This was also during a time when Hollywood simply stopped making many musicals.
Always a reclusive person, she started to withdraw from Hollywood as her alleged anorexia took its toll on her. Her peculiar eating habits are well documented. Vera-Ellen became alarmingly thin in her thirties. The reason for her disappearance from the movies is complicated and under debate. During her heyday she appeared with such icons as Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Bing Crosby, but after those golden years ended in the 1950s, her later years are pretty much shrouded in mystery.
However, no other dancer had the girl next door look more than Vera-Ellen. There are many dancers during the golden age of the Hollywood musical who are remembered like Cyd Charisse and Ann Miller.