Few images in Hollywood history are as instantly recognizable as Marlene Dietrich with a cigarette. The German-born actress built one of cinema’s most carefully constructed public personas, and the cigarette was central to it. From her earliest days in front of the camera through decades of film work, Dietrich wore smoking like a costume — deliberate, controlled, and impossible to ignore.
In the 1930s, Mistinguett and Marlene Dietrich are seen smoking together.
Dietrich’s breakthrough in Hollywood came with the 1930 film Morocco, directed by Josef von Sternberg. In it, she played Amy Jolly, a cabaret singer who moved through the screen in men’s formal wear — top hat, tails, and a cigarette held with complete ease. The role announced exactly what kind of star she intended to be.
Marlene Dietrich looks dapper in men’s top hat and tails in the film ‘Morocco.’
Marlene Dietrich makes her Hollywood film debut as Amy Jolly, dressed in a tuxedo in ‘Morocco,’ directed by Josef von Sternberg.
On screen, smoking gave Dietrich a physical confidence that was rare for actresses of the era. She didn’t fidget with cigarettes or use them as props. She smoked the way men smoked — casually and without apology. This was a direct challenge to the gender expectations of 1930s Hollywood, where female stars were typically cast in softer, more passive roles.
A photograph of Marlene Dietrich smoking.Marlene Dietrich and Italian actor Paul Porcasi share a scene from the film ‘Morocco’ in 1930.Marlene Dietrich captured smoking in a photograph.
Off screen, the habit carried the same weight. Photographs from the early 1930s show Dietrich in a double-breasted suit, kneeling by a lake with a cigarette in hand — composed and unhurried. The image wasn’t accidental. Dietrich was deeply involved in shaping how she appeared to the public, and smoking was a tool she used with full intention.
In 1932, Marlene Dietrich kneels by a lake while smoking a cigarette in a double-breasted suit.
A photograph of Marlene Dietrich smoking taken in 1932.
Marlene Dietrich and Brian Aherne share a dinner scene from the film ‘Song Of Songs.’
A photograph of Marlene Dietrich smoking.
Her film work in the mid-1930s continued to build the image. In Blonde Venus and The Devil is a Woman, she played characters defined by power and sensuality. Whether in elaborate costumes or a simple tuxedo flanked by Maurice Chevalier and Gary Cooper, Dietrich held the frame with the same cool authority.
Marlene Dietrich poses for ‘Blonde Venus’ in a pageant of Film Memories, held in aid of the Princess Beatrice Hospital.
Maurice Chevalier (left) and Gary Cooper flank Marlene Dietrich dressed in a tuxedo.
Marlene Dietrich stars in ‘Blonde Venus’ for the Pageant of Film Memories.
Marlene Dietrich wears a soft pull-on hat while smoking a cigarette.
A photograph of Marlene Dietrich smoking taken in 1934.
A portrait of Marlene Dietrich taken in 1934.
By 1935, Dietrich’s collaborations with director Josef von Sternberg had produced six films together. The two shared a close working relationship, visible even in candid photographs from set. Her role as Concha Perez in The Devil is a Woman that year showed the full range of her screen command — seductive, sharp, and entirely in control.
Marlene Dietrich dines with director Josef von Sternberg in 1935.
Marlene Dietrich oozes sensuality while smoking in the 1930s.
Marlene Dietrich seduces as Concha Perez in a scene from the film ‘The Devil is a Woman.’
A portrait of Marlene Dietrich taken in 1935.
Marlene Dietrich poses in a typical arrogant yet sexy stance for ‘The Devil is a Woman.’
Marlene Dietrich stars in ‘The Devil is a Woman’ in 1935.A portrait of Marlene Dietrich taken in 1935.
Studio photographs from the mid-1930s often caught Dietrich smoking on staircases, on desert location sets, and in portrait sessions. Each image reinforced the same qualities: elegance, detachment, and self-possession. A 1936 photograph shows her in a canvas chair on a desert set, wearing a turban and holding a cigarette as if she had all the time in the world.
Marlene Dietrich is captured smoking on a staircase.
A photograph of actress Marlene Dietrich smoking taken in 1935.
Marlene Dietrich sits in a canvas chair, wearing a turban, and holding a cigarette on the desert location set in 1936.Marlene Dietrich epitomizes screen sensuality in this photograph.
The 1937 romantic drama Angel saw Dietrich play Maria Barker, adding another layer to her filmography. That same year, candid photographs showed her alongside actor Melvyn Douglas — she held a cigarette while he sat close. Even in social settings, the cigarette remained a fixture of how she presented herself.
Marlene Dietrich appears in a scene from the romantic drama ‘Angel’ in 1937.
Marlene Dietrich poses in an advertisement for the romantic drama ‘Angel’ in 1937.
Marlene Dietrich portrays Maria Barker in a scene from the romantic drama ‘Angel’ in 1937.
Marlene Dietrich stars as Maria Barker in the 1937 film ‘Angel.’
The film ‘Angel’ features Marlene Dietrich in a starring role as Maria Barker.
Maria Barker, played by Marlene Dietrich, is the central character in the film ‘Angel.’
Marlene Dietrich looks stunning in an elegant white dress from 1937.
Melvyn Douglas sits next to German-born actress Marlene Dietrich as she smokes a cigarette in 1937.
Dietrich’s career extended well past the 1930s. Her role as Frenchy in the 1939 western Destry Rides Again revived her box office standing and showed audiences a looser, more playful side of her screen presence. Behind the scenes, she lunched on set with director George Marshall and producer Joe Pasternak, cigarette never far away.
Ernest Hemingway and Marlene Dietrich captured in a photograph together.Marlene Dietrich plays Frenchy in a scene from the 1937 film ‘Destry Rides Again.’Marlene Dietrich has lunch with director George Marshall and producer Joe Pasternak on the set of her latest film ‘Destry Rides Again’ in 1939.Basil Rathbone meets fellow film star Marlene Dietrich.
Into the 1940s, Dietrich’s image remained consistent. Promotional portraits for Seven Sinners showed her in a sailor’s cap with a cigarette, while candid shots from her suite at the St. Regis Hotel in New York captured the same offhand ease. The 1942 film The Lady is Willing placed her in a very different kind of role, but the persona outside the set stayed the same.
Marlene Dietrich looks stylish in a sailor’s cap and cigarette in a promotional portrait for ‘Seven Sinners.’
Marlene Dietrich is seen puffing a cigarette in her suite at the St. Regis Hotel.
In the 1942 comedy ‘The Lady is Willing,’ Marlene Dietrich wears a matching set of ostentatious jewelry in the role of Elizabeth Madden.Errol Flynn, Maria Magdalena von Losch, Lili Damita, and Jack Warner are pictured with Marlene Dietrich.
During the filming of Martin Roumagnac in 1944, photographs captured Dietrich on break with a cigarette. She was also photographed on the set of A Foreign Affair in the late 1940s, and a 1948 portrait session in New York City showed the same steady, self-assured presence she had projected since Morocco.
Marlene Dietrich takes a cigarette break during the filming of ‘Martin Roumagnac’ in 1944.
Marlene Dietrich is seen on the set of ‘A Foreign Affair’ in the 1940s.
A portrait of Marlene Dietrich taken in NYC in 1948.
In the 1950 Alfred Hitchcock film Stage Fright, Dietrich shared a scene with Jane Wyman — both women with cigarettes. It was the kind of moment that reinforced how natural the habit looked on screen for Dietrich. Off set, she mingled with figures like Elia Kazan at the premiere reception for George Cukor’s A Star is Born and shared photographs with Orson Welles in 1958.
Jane Wyman and Marlene Dietrich share a cigarette in a scene from the 1950 murder mystery ‘Stage Fright.’Glynis Johns is pictured with Marlene Dietrich.
A photograph of a German-born Marlene Dietrich holding a cigarette, dressed in a tailored suit, hat, bow-tie, and cufflinks.
A portrait of actress Marlene Dietrich.
Marlene Dietrich is captured smoking in 1950.Rita Gam and Marlene Dietrich perform at the opening of a circus in New York City in 1952.Marlene Dietrich smiles for photographers in 1954.Elia Kazan and Marlene Dietrich sit together at the premiere reception for director George Cukor’s film ‘A Star is Born’ in the 1950s.
Her work in The Monte Carlo Story brought her alongside Vittorio De Sica in the mid-1950s. Set photographs show the two in easy conversation between takes — Dietrich unhurried and composed, very much the same figure audiences had watched since the early sound era of Hollywood.
Arthur O’Connell, Marlene Dietrich, and Vittorio De Sica star in ‘The Monte Carlo Story.’Renato Rascel, Vittorio De Sica, and Marlene Dietrich are pictured on the set of ‘The Monte Carlo Story.’Marlene Dietrich and Vittorio De Sica chat during a break on the set of ‘The Monte Carlo Story.’Marlene Dietrich asks a security worker to light her cigarette.Marlene Dietrich shares a joke with US actor and director Orson Welles in 1958.
By the time she appeared in Judgment at Nuremberg in 1961, Dietrich had been one of Hollywood’s most photographed figures for three decades. On the set of that film, she was photographed smoking — the same gesture that had defined her image from the very beginning. Across her entire career, the cigarette was never just a prop. It was a statement of who she was.
Marlene Dietrich is seen smoking during the making of the 1961 movie ‘Judgment at Nuremberg.’
