The Dolly Sisters
Jenny and Rosie Dolly lived two of the most glamorous lives mere mortals could even hope to read about. They also had incredible luck: beautiful, talented, and millionairesses at the gambling table, they drew in rich men faster than a sure thing at the stock market. But when that luck ran out, their downfall was swift and shattering. And, as with everything, they did it together.
New-York Tribune (New York [N.Y.]), August 20, 1916, Wikimedia Commons
1. They Came From Nothing
Jenny Dolly and her identical twin sister Rosie may have become the glamorous “Dolly Sisters,” but they started almost literally from the bottom. Born in Hungary in 1892, they immigrated to America with their mother in 1905, settling in New York’s Lower East Side.
Even then, though, the Dolly girls had big dreams, and they aimed very high very early.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
2. They Were Work Horses
Though Jenny and Rosie were only 13 years old when they came to America, the family had barely settled in before the twins were seeking out a better life for the family. They trained themselves up as dancers, scraping together money in beer halls and under-age circuits before joining the vaudeville circuit. As it turned out, the world was ready for their close-up.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
3. They Were Ziegfeld Girls
By 1911, before Jenny and Rosie had even turned 20, the famous impresario Florenz Ziegfeld caught wind of their talents and signed them up for his well-known act the Ziefeld Follies, and for two seasons no less.
It was a development that some entertainers spent decades trying to achieve, but the Dolly Sisters made it look easy.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
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4. They Were “Exotic”
Over the next two years, Jenny and Rosie became steadily more famous, and as much for their glitzy routines as for their vampy looks. Dark, diminutive, and mirror images of each other, the Dolly Sisters exuded a strangeness and exoticism that people came to see in droves, making them truly famous nearly overnight.
Behind the scenes, though, things were hardly ideal.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
5. They Had Different Personalities
Jenny and Rosie may have looked alike, but they certainly weren’t the same person. Although both girls enjoyed the pleasures of the high life, including jewelry and adoring men, from almost the beginning Jenny was considered the “wild” sister.
Naturally, it wasn’t long before both of them wanted to branch out alone, and Jenny thought she had just the plan.
6. They Loved Hard
The Dolly Sisters always fell in love quickly and deeply, and Jenny’s relationship with the dancer Harry Fox was no exception. Agile and powerful, Fox would soon have the “Foxtrot” named after him. He acted as an impeccable partner for Jenny, who repaid the favor by marrying him in 1912 when she was around 20 years old, though he was a full decade older than her.
Depending on whose version of events you believe, Jenny then used Fox for all he was worth.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
7. They Went Solo
By 1913, Jenny had set up a solo act with her new husband, dancing with him in Honeymoon Express while Rosie appeared on stage in The Whirl of the World. Jenny and Fox then toured vaudeville as their own duo, and for a time Jenny and Rosie got further away from their Dolly Sisters name. But they could never quite keep away from each other.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
8. They Took Cues From Each Other
Despite all their efforts to distinguish themselves as more than just identical twins, Jenny and Rosie somehow always managed to mirror each other. In fact, Rosie also married just a year after Jenny, and to another showbusiness regular, the songwriter Jean Schwartz.
Then, in 1915, an offer both terrifying and tempting fell at both their feet.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
9. They Got A Dream Offer
At this point, AH Woods, a producer the sisters had worked with early in their careers, approached them about his new show, His Bridal Night, that he wanted to tailor specifically to their joint talents. This included multiple dance sequences as well as leading roles that would have them speak on stage.
To anyone on the outside, it seemed like a dream opportunity, but there was a problem.
White Studio, Wikimedia Commons
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10. They Were Silent For A Reason
The Dolly Sisters had been trying to make it solo, and may have been reluctant to go back together again so soon after they’d split. Their larger worry, however, was that they weren’t actors: They could dance up a storm, but had never spoken on stage.
More than that, they worried that when they opened their mouths, it would all unravel.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
11. They Had Heavy Accents
At that point, few knew what Jenny and Rosie experienced every day: They still had strong Hungarian accents from their childhood, and worried that audiences would neither understand or accept them speaking English. Woods, however, was determined to have the beautiful twins for his production, and he came up with a scheme.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
12. They Worked Hard To Hide
Once Jenny and Rosie were on board, Woods set them up with the show’s writer, Margaret Mayo, who was a former actress herself. Over the next weeks and months, the sisters worked tirelessly with her to minimize their accents for the lines they were supposed to speak, and when they came across something they simply couldn’t pronounce, Mayo changed the dialogue. It paid off more than anyone could expect.
White Studio, Wikimedia Commons
13. They Had A Success On Their Hands
His Bridal Night would go on to prove successful for the Dolly Sisters, sparking a long run and tours across the US as well as a later silent film with actress Alice Brady playing both the twins’ parts. More than success, though, the experience taught them that they could act if they wanted. It all took off from there.
White Studio, Wikimedia Commons
14. They Became Marquee Names
Over the next years, the sisters dabbled in film, with Jenny starring in The Call of the Dance in 1915, only for Rosie to outdo her when she appeared opposite of acting legend Lillian Gish in the then-titled Lily and the Rose (later The Tiger Lady).
This work not only raised their profiles, but their appetite for more. And they had no problem asking for seconds.
Bain News Service; Uploaded by Calliopejen; Edited by jjron; Edited by Antilived, Wikimedia Commons
15. They Made Big Demands
In 1916, Jenny and Rosie once more proved they couldn’t be kept apart for long, and made a reappearance together in another Ziegfeld production, Midnight Frolic. But they didn’t do it as a favor to their old boss: Both women demanded $2,000 a week for their shows, an eye-popping amount for the era. In fact, they were getting quite the reputation for the way they handled money.
White Studios, Wikimedia Commons
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16. They Were A Million Bucks
Although both Jenny and Rosie were married at the time, rumors abounded throughout their entire lives about them “entertaining” men—and the richer, the better. This, coupled with their astronomical performance fees allegedly earned them the nickname “The Million Dollar Dollies,” and in 1918 they even starred together in a semi-autobiographical film of the same name.
But when it came to excess, the world hadn’t seen anything yet.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
17. They Went To Europe
WWI had been raging through Europe throughout much of the Dolly Sisters’ rise to fame, though you would have never known it from their carefree shows. But they were paying attention, and no sooner did the conflict end than the Dollies went back over to Europe to bask in the post-war hedonism that was sure to flourish there.
Well, one of them was basking. The other took a different path.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
18. They Took Different Paths
There might be no more accurate illustration of the difference between the wild Jenny and the tamer Rosie than what they each did after stepping back on European soil. While Jenny continued the partying lifestyle they had trademarked in America, Rosie reportedly went back to Hungary to work in an orphanage. It’s just they never could stay away from each other.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
19. They Got Back Into The High Life
Eventually, Rosie was pulled back into Jenny’s orbit, reuniting with her in France. When they did come together again, it was right back into their old joint habits. Before long, they bought themselves a chateau to keep them in high style, and helped popularize dances like the Charleston at the Casino de Paris. It worked almost a little too well.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
20. Royalty Loved Them
The Dolly Sisters had made an impression on American audiences, but this was nothing compared to their popularity in post-war Europe. They were at the height of their powers here, and multiple members of royalty took special interest in them, including Carol II of Romania, Christian X of Denmark, and Alfonso XIII of Spain.
Though the Dolly Sisters were more than happy to accept the men’s attention and wealth, they didn’t forget about making their own bank.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
21. They Tricked Audiences
Where before the pair genuinely tried to go solo, they now used solo shows as a gambit to make more money. It went like this: They would pair off with male dance partners, then put their performances on the same night. The “rivalry” would then easily boost their ticket sales, putting even more cash into their collective pocket.
The Dolly Sisters had learned how to play their audiences like a fiddle, and they didn’t stop.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
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22. They Were Money-Hungry
Soon enough, the Roaring 20s were in full swing, and the Dolly Sisters were at the absolute top of their game, financially and otherwise. They demanded ever-higher salaries to show up, and producers readily complied, knowing they would draw in crowds to cover it. Reportedly, during one run at Paris’s Moulin Rouge, the pair got $1,200 a night.
But it was never enough, and their lifestyle soon kicked off a dangerous habit.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
23. They Had A Knack
The Dolly Sisters knew that money begat money, and they became avid gamblers at casinos and horse tracks around Europe. Cunningly, they generally used their wealthy admirers to help fund these trips—but their results spoke for themselves. In one season in Deauville, they managed to win $850,000, an absolute fortune for the time. And one of them had a particular skill.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
24. The Were Filthy Rich
For one reason or another, Jenny Dolly emerged as a legendarily lucky gambler during this time, winning 4 million francs in just one night in Cannes, an excursion even James Bond could respect. Soon after, she reportedly went on to win another $11 million, in addition to scores of other “paltry” sums like $500,000 at baccarat and $200,000 at roulette.
With her winnings came a new obsession.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
25. They Adorned Themselves
At this time, Jenny Dolly had one overwhelming passion, and it wasn’t for men or for horse-racing. Instead, she was obsessed with jewelry. She spent nearly all of her winnings on expensive jewelry, amassing a collection that boggled the minds of even the wealthiest Europeans of the day—as well as the most scandalous ones.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
26. They Sparked Jealousy
When you walked into a casino, Jenny’s jewels were visible from a mile away. Thelma Furness, who would become the mistress of King Edward VIII and who was used to opulence, commented that, “I have never seen so many jewels on any one person in my life. Her bracelets reached almost to her elbows. The necklace she wore must have cost a king's ransom, and the ring on her right hand was the size of an ice cube”.
But in the Dolly Sisters’ case, all that glittered was not gold.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
27. They Went Through Divorces At The Same Time
Jenny and Rosie had long ago outgrown their early marriages, and—like so much in their lives—when those marriages fell apart, they fell apart in tandem. The sisters divorced their husbands the very same year, in 1921, preferring the company of their many and multiplying European beaux instead. Not that they were single for long.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
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28. They Met A Very Rich Man
In 1925, one of the Dolly Sisters’ most famous suitors came into the picture, which is saying something given their other lovers. That year, they met the American retail magnate Harry Gordon Selfridge, owner of the massively successful British store Selfridges, while they were performing in London.
The pair had met powerful men before, but no one was quite like Selfridge.
Spartacus Educational, Wikimedia Commons
29. They Had A Type
Much like the Dollies, Selfridge had built himself up from almost nothing, beginning as a newspaper boy and, after a trip to London that sparked the idea for his department store, ending as the “Earl of Oxford Street”. Like the sisters, he also had an intimate understanding of how to sell, and believed shopping could be for pleasure, not just necessity.
So when he and Jenny became an item, in some ways it was a perfect fit. In others, it was a disaster.
Cox (per [1]), Wikimedia Commons
30. They Found A New Bank
Selfridge was a widower when he and Jenny met, but the pair still made tongues wag when they began a tryst. After all, Selfridge was over three decades Jenny’s senior, and the couple weren’t quiet about their love. Selfridge happily sent Jenny expensive gift after expensive gift, and continued the tradition of bankrolling her gambling habits, as well as her sister’s.
That said, this latter generosity may not have been mere altruism.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
31. One Twin May Have Betrayed The Other
If the rumors from this time are to be believed, Jenny and Rosie Dolly really did have to do everything together. Persistent gossip reported that even while Jenny was romancing the department store boss, so too was her sister Rosie, which might account for the attention Selfridge paid to the other twin. But the sisters were about to run out of luck.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
32. They Lost Millions
During the rumored menage-a-trois between Selfridge, Jenny, and Rosie, the Dolly Sisters were less successful on the casino floor than they had been in the past. According to reports, rather than winning big with their department store dollars, they now lost $4 million of Selfridge’s money, though Selfridge himself didn’t appear to balk at the loss. But more bad luck was to come.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
33. They Found Another Rich Man
In 1927, Rosie unlatched from Selfridge to marry Mortimer Davis Jr, the scion of Tobacco kingpin Mortimer Davis and the heir to a great fortune. It looked, then, like a classic Dolly Sisters situation: find a wealthy man and ride the wave. But while romance had usually helped the Dolly Sisters, this time it hurt them.
Royal Bank of Canada, Wikimedia Commons
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34. They Got Cut Off
Jenny and Rosie had managed to charm all kinds of audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, but they couldn’t charm Mortimer Davis Sr. The elder Davis was appalled at his son’s actions, and refused to accept Rosie into the family. Going one step further, he cut off the groom entirely, leaving Rosie—and most likely Jenny too—much the poorer.
Unfortunately, this happened at the worst possible time.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
35. They Performed With Legends
The year before Rosie’s marriage, in 1926, it seemed the Dolly Sisters’ popularity would never peter out, and they staged a benefit concert alongside greats like Josephine Baker. Only, by the time the new year hit, their popularity did begin to wane, proving how fickle show business can be. The next development made this brutally clear.
Studio Harcourt, Wikimedia Commons
36. They Had A Flop
Jenny and Rosie had been working on a show called A vol d’oiseau throughout 1926, and advertised their upcoming work nearly everywhere in Paris. Many expected it to bring in their usual droves—until it didn’t. To the surprise of the sisters, A vol d’oiseau faltered and closed after just eight weeks, putting them out of a job before they’d even really begun.
The Dolly Sisters weren’t used to losing, and it showed.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
37. They Made A Huge Announcement
Discouraged, Jenny and Rosie retreated into the cloistered world of the casino, spending more time gambling other people’s money away than they did performing on stage. The writing was on the wall, and in 1929, still in their 30s, they announced their official retirements.
But in a twist that was just like the Dolly Sisters, these retirements were the most dramatic and tragic of all.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
38. A Love Story Came To An End
It began with a development many saw coming: With their marriage strained from family disapproval and a dearth of funds, Rosie and Mortimer Davis Jr officially split after just four years together. Even so, just a year later Rosie consoled herself with a new marriage, to the merchant Irving Netcher, and the pair eventually moved to Chicago.
Jenny, as usual, had a wilder rebound.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
39. One Became A Mother
At first, Jenny’s retirement started out with a bang. The same year she announced she was done with show business, she also adopted two Hungarian orphans, Klari and Manczi, and took the two girls under her wing.
Jenny was determined to raise her daughters on her own, but men certainly hadn’t disappeared from her life. In fact, she had too many.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
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40. She Two-Timed Him
Harry Gordon Selfridge was still desperately in love with Jenny even after her retirement, but Jenny herself had mixed feelings about the relationship. She liked Selfridge well enough (and probably especially his money) but she had by now fallen head over heels for the dashing French pilot Max Constant with a volatile and intense passion.
Unfortunately for Jenny, Selfridge was about to make her an offer she didn’t want to refuse.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
41. She Got An Indecent Proposal
While Jenny continued to see both Constant and Selfridge, Selfridge tried to strong-arm the situation the way he always did: With money. According to lore, he reportedly offered Jenny $10 million dollars if she would finally settle down, become a one-man woman, and agree to be his second wife. Jenny’s response was her undoing.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
42. She Went On One Last Fling
Jenny knew that Selfridge’s offer was the best business deal she was likely ever to make in her life, but her heart was still with Constant. So, hedging her bets, she asked for time to think about Selfridge’s offer and went on one final holiday with her pilot.
She and Constant hopped in a sports car and roamed around France—but she wouldn’t come back the same.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
43. She Got Into A Horrific Accident
While the two lovers were returning to Paris, Constant lost control of his car near Bordeaux in a devastating car crash. The consequences were horrific: Jenny was ravaged by the impact, with her stomach pressed up into the chamber of her lungs. But there was one injury in particular she would never get over.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
44. She Needed Facial Reconstruction
Besides the damage to her internal organs, Jenny’s face was so cut up that she needed dozens of operations and plastic surgeries to reconstruct it. All the same, medicine could only do so much for her looks, and for a woman who had been valued almost exclusively for her beauty, it was a vicious turn of events.
It wasn’t even the only thing she had to let go of.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
45. They Had To Clear Out Their Accounts
To add insult to injury, Jenny’s medical costs were astronomical, and she, and likely her sister Rosie too, made immense sacrifices just to keep her head above water. To pay her debts, she sold off part of her jewellery collection and emptied most of the rest of her assets as well.
When help did come, it was from a heartbreaking source.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
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46. She Got A Final Helping Hand
Selfridge hadn’t forgotten his love for Jenny, and he ended up paying for many of her medical treatments during her recovery. That said, this was no fairy tale: Apparently, too much had now passed between them, and they never did marry. Instead, Jenny destroyed herself.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
47. She Fell Into A Depression
Between the loss of her jewelry and the loss of her beauty, Jenny developed acute depression. She dragged herself around Europe for the next nine years, but felt so isolated that she eventually left the continent entirely, ending up with her sister Rosie and Rosie’s husband Irving in Chicago.
It was supposed to be a new start, but it was only the beginning of something worse.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
48. She Tried To Be Happy
For a time, things did get better. While in Chicago, Jenny met the wealthy lawyer Bernard Vinissky, and this time she wasn’t about to let a sure thing slip through her hands. The two married in 1935, with Vinissky even adopting Jenny’s children Klari and Manczi in the process. But in the end, no Prince Charming could save Jenny from herself.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
49. It Fell Apart Again
Now on her second marriage and her umpteenth romance, it took Jenny little time to realize that being Mrs Vinissky changed very little, and certainly didn’t bring her miraculous happiness. Before long, she and Bernard separated, with Jenny taking her two girls and leasing an apartment. It was here her final tragedy occurred.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
50. She Ended It All
In June of 1941, Jenny was coming up on her 49th birthday, and nothing was how it used to be. She didn’t have Selfridge or Constant, she didn’t have thousands of admirers, and to her, she had no reason to live. On the first of the month, Jenny Dolly used a curtain rod to hang herself in her apartment, taking her final, brutal bow.
Once more, her twin couldn’t help following her.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
51. They Couldn’t Be Apart
Jenny’s passing devastated Rosie, who now retreated almost entirely from public life. Even so, this wasn’t enough: More than 20 years after Jenny’s end, in 1962, Rosie also made an attempt on her own life.
Although she didn’t succeed, she didn’t have long to wait. In 1970, she passed from a heart attack at the age of 77. Both sisters are interred in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California.
Screenshot from The Dolly Sisters, 20th Century Fox (1945)
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![New-York Tribune (New York [N.Y.]), August 20, 1916, Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dolly_Sisters_1916_01.jpg){kind=link}
![Cox (per [1]), Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harry_Gordon_Selfridge_circa_1880_2.jpg%20){kind=link}
