Maria Riva, the only child of film icon Marlene Dietrich and an actress in her own right, has died, her son confirmed to TheWrap. She was 100.
Per Peter Riva, the actress passed away from natural causes on Wednesday while at his home in Gila, New Mexico. She was set to turn 101 in December.
“We will all miss Maria’s intelligence, advice and depth of human understanding,” Riva’s son wrote in a statement. “The family is comforted knowing that she now goes to join her husband of 50 years, William, and her eldest son Michael and her parents, Marlene and Rudi.”
He added: “It is with sadness that we as a family have had to face our mother’s eventual passing, for she was always the one person we all could always count on being there — always ready with food, warmth, advice and love, which were her truest gifts to all the lives that she touched.”
Born Maria Elisabeth Sieber on December 13, 1924 in Berlin, Riva was the only child of Dietrich and Rudolf Sieber, an editor/assistant director. She followed in her mother’s footsteps, playing the younger version of Dietrich in Josef von Sternberg’s 1934 film “The Scarlet Empress.” She landed a few other roles before beginning her acting training at 15 at the Max Reinhardt Academy.
Riva briefly married Dean Goodman in 1943, before divorcing him and wedding scenic designer William Riva in 1947. They had four children together.
During this time, Riva was signed to CBS as a contract player, and went on to appear in a number of projects, including “Lux Video Theatre,” “Hallmark Hall of Fame,” and “Studio One.” She was nominated for the Best Actress Emmy award in both 1952 and 1953.
In fact, Riva notably starred opposite Hollywood legends like Rod Steiger, Omar Sharif, Paul Newman, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. She also worked with producers Dick Donner, John Frankenheimer and others.
However, Riva chose to retire at the height of her acting career, choosing to become the manager for her mother — before pursing a successful career as a biographer and author.
Her 1992 biography about her mother, titled “Marlene Dietrich,” was met with favorable reviews and found itself on the New York Times Best Seller list. Riva released her first novel, “You Were There Before My Eyes: A Novel,” at the age of 91 in 2017.
She is survived by her sons, Peter, Paul and David, grandchildren Matthew, Sean, Samantha, William, Michael Jr., Adam, Daniel, and four great grandchildren Lily, Ayla and Aidan and Marilee. Riva’s first son, J. Michael Riva, predeceased her in 2012 after suffering a stroke.
