Tilly Losch Was An Artist With A Penchant For Scandal
There were very few creative areas in which Tilly Losch did not dip her toes during the early 20th century. From ballet to modern dance, from stage to screen, and from choreography to visual arts, Losch was nothing short of a genius. But despite her many talents, perhaps what she was best known for in her day was her insatiable libido, which resulted in many steamy affairs with some of the most powerful men of the era…
1. She Was European
Tilly Losch was born Ottilie Ethel Leopoldine Losch in Vienna on November 15, 1903, her nickname being a shortened version of her first name. Born to Russian émigré parents, her father was but a humble banker, meaning the Losch family did not quite have the stature that would explain Losch’s later high-class contact list.
But a chance encounter with a nobleman gave this lower-class Jewish girl a shot at the big time.
Revista argentina Plus Ultra. Septiembre de 1925., Wikimedia Commons
2. She Found Her Talent
An opportunity fell into Losch’s young lap when she was just six years old: she got a chance to study ballet at the Vienna Opera. The young girl immediately took to the discipline and made her debut at Vienna’s Royal Opera House in a children’s ballet. Her dedication to the craft was evident early on, even if it almost cost her mobility.
Franz Xaver Setzer, Wikimedia Commons
3. She Took A Tumble
Tilly Losch would later recall that first performance with amused nostalgia. She recounted her complete surrender to the art of ballet early on, claiming that she had been so focused on her debut performance that she lost herself and fell into the prompter’s box. It would take more than one slip to stop this plucky young ballerina, however.
4. She Hit The Stage
Though still just a child, Losch made her official debut in a 1913 production, when she secured a role in Louis Frappart’s Wiener Walzer, performed on the main stage of the Royal Opera House in Vienna. The talented young protégé dazzled crowds, and she continued upwards from there, one graceful leap at a time.
Ira D. Schwarz (1878-1946), Wikimedia Commons
5. She Climbed The Ladder
The next few years saw a rapid acceleration in the young Losch’s success, and her career entered the stratosphere. She became a member of the Royal Opera House’s esteemed corps de ballet on March 1, 1918, going on to secure the coveted rank of coryphée only three years later, at an impressively young age. Further demonstrating her singular talent, she next took a step up that few ballerinas ever take.
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6. She Got The Spotlight
The Royal Opera promoted Tilly Losch to soloist on New Year’s Day of 1924, at just 20 years old, an incredible achievement for a dancer her age and of her social stature. Given the nod directly by ballet master Heinrich Kroeller and Opera co-director Richard Strauss, Tilly made her solo debut as the Chinese Lady Doll in Josef Hassreiter's Die Puppenfee. The big roles just kept coming from there.
Franz Leximeliaman, Wikimedia Commons
7. She Racked Up Credits
Over the next few years, Losch established herself as a marquee act in the Vienna ballet scene, and she became a muse for some of the biggest names of the era. Among the new ballets in which she took on major roles were productions by Kroeller, Georgi Kyaksht, and Nicola Guerra. Critics and audiences alike were stunned by her display.
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8. She Was A Pro
Critics fell head over heels with the ballet scene’s humble newcomer and gushed about Losch’s talents throughout their review columns. Her contemporary critics acclaimed Tilly for her “superb grace," “brilliant technique," and recognized that the artistry of her hand and arm movements alone had the power to evoke imagery.
However, it wasn't just her grace that harnessed people's attention.
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9. She Was A Knockout
Tilly Losch gained a reputation for her charming personality, but her assets didn’t stop there. Indeed, she was the whole package: talented, personable, and a timeless beauty. Her piercing gaze and full lips infatuated audiences. Men everywhere crumbled at the bat of her eyelashes.
And, whether intentional or not, she wielded this power wherever she went.
10. She Had Admirers
Losch quickly began attracting the attention of almost every man who would come in contact with her, and she wasn’t afraid to use her beauty to her advantage. One suitor would later gush about the spell she held over him, falling for, in his words, her “very Slavic high cheekbones, wonderful green eyes wide apart, and a nose like a little cat’s”.
Losch was still laser-focused on her career, however, and was not ready to settle down quite yet. She had more mountains to climb.
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11. She Expanded Her Repertoire
Showing early signs that one art form could not contain her, Tilly Losch began to explore other areas of dance. Most notably, she took modern dance classes outside the Opera, with prominent teachers, Grete Wiesenthal and Mary Wigman. But even dance quickly grew too limiting for the unstoppable star.
Grete Wiesenthal, Wikimedia Commons
12. She Crossed Disciplines
Losch enjoyed the physicality of dancing but was ever eager to express herself in new and exciting ways. To this end, she began to perform dramatic and movement roles onstage in Viennese theaters, most prominently at the Salzburg Festival. She also performed outside of Austria for the first time—and one production in particular unlocked yet another talent.
13. She Took Charge
In 1924, Tilly Losch secured a role in Max Reinhardt’s Berlin production of the Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Tilly's talents and creative spirit deeply impressed Reinhardt, and during preproduction, he offered her the opportunity to choreograph the entire play. Jumping at the chance, Losch excelled, and her collaboration with Reinhardt inspired her to leave her old life behind entirely.
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14. She Struck Out
Once production in Berlin had concluded, Losch returned to Vienna. However, she had gotten a taste of her true passion. Over the next three years, she longed to return to choreography, where she had felt truly free to express herself. Finally, on August 31, 1927, she resigned from the Vienna Opera to resume work with Reinhardt, who promised her more work in Salzburg, Berlin, and even New York City. Thus began their fulfilling collaboration.
But the opportunity to finally spread her creative wings wasn't the only perk.
Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons
15. She Got To Work
Losch promptly became Reinhardt’s muse, though the creative relationship was mutually beneficial: he took her on as one of his chief collaborators, and she took the lead as choreographer for two of his most acclaimed productions, Everyman and Danton’s Death. And though they weren’t New York-bound yet, working for Reinhardt meant that she had the chance to travel the world.
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16. She Spread Her Wings
Losch’s newfound creative freedom and collaborative relationship opened new doors for her, and before long, she featured in her first performance outside of mainland Europe. In 1928, she made her London debut, starring in a production of Noël Coward's musical revue This Year of Grace. It was a smashing success, and Losch began building an international reputation.
Bain News Service, Wikimedia Commons
17. She Stormed The Anglosphere
Over the next few years, Losch’s success afforded her opportunities to work in London and, finally, New York, and she moved regularly between the two cities. She was not just dancing; the ambitious young star also got to spread her creative wings further, working as an in-demand choreographer. She became a worldwide sensation and rubbed elbows with Hollywood’s biggest names.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
18. She Danced With The Stars
In 1931, Tilly Losch got an invaluable opportunity to perform onstage with two of the era’s biggest stars: Adele and Fred Astaire. She jumped at the chance, of course, and danced in the musical revue The Band Wagon, a huge production staged in New York. Losch held her own admirably alongside the Astaires, and it wasn’t long before further opportunity knocked.
Studio publicity still, Wikimedia Commons
19. She Started Talking
All the while, Reinhardt remained Losch’s greatest advocate. Her talent dazzled him, and he constantly pushed her to expand her repertoire. In particular, the director grew convinced that Losch was an actress-in-waiting, and to that end, cast her in a London production of The Miracle in 1932.
He even rewrote Losch’s part so that she would have the only spoken dialogue in the production, which she recited with great dramatic flair. But while Losch was making a name for herself in the world of performing arts, there were other, less flattering whispers about her too…
20. She Was A Sugar Baby
Losch’s talent could not outrun another unflattering reputation she was gaining. Whispers abounded in New York and London circles, and one biography claimed that the talented young dancer was “ravished by men in power”. It wasn’t long before she became known as a gold digger. And while we should never discount her talent as the most notable thing about her, the rumors may have had some truth to them.
General Photographic Agency, Getty Images
21. She Wasn’t Fussy
Perhaps it was because of her humble origins, or perhaps she just loved having nice things, but Tilly Losch did indeed engage in affairs with rich and powerful men. Her reputation went beyond that, however.
Upper-class folk knew her to be a reliable pursuit for rich and powerful men who were physically unattractive and, thus, unappealing to other pretty young “gold diggers”. Losch, to her credit, was not shallow (when it came to looks, at least), but it wasn’t just money she was getting from these encounters.
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22. She Was A Chaser
While Losch was certainly a trophy passed around by wealthy men in London and New York, she wasn’t exactly shy about her intentions. Indeed, she reportedly exuded a magnetic aura herself, barely concealing her appetite for intimacy, which caused rich men to fall head over heels for her. But make no mistake: it was never about love.
23. She Wasn’t A Romantic
Losch was never sentimental, nor overly affectionate with her lovers. Her pursuits of men were purely for financial benefit and pleasure. One biographer opined that she was “incapable of love”. Whether that was true, it certainly seemed like romance was, at the very least, a transactional act for the talented young debutante—even if some of her suitors didn’t see it that way…
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24. She Ensnared A Prime Minister’s Son
One of Losch’s many suitors was Randolph Churchill, son of titanic British icon and Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. The younger Churchill was putty in Losch's hands, and he became utterly infatuated—so much so that she became the first woman he ever slept with. After their encounter, Randolph would gush about her for years to come, praising her “boundless sexual capacity”.
But one man eventually locked Tilly Losch down...at least, for a little while.
Cecil Beaton, Wikimedia Commons
25. She Became A Beard
Another figure enchanted by Tilly Losch was Edward James, a poet and patron of surrealist arts. After a brief courtship, James begged Losch to be his wife. She didn’t have to think long and hard about it; James was one of the wealthiest men in England!
There was another factor that played into her decision as well: one of London’s worst-kept secrets was that James had a preference for men. Likely seeing this as a way to continue her promiscuous lifestyle, Losch agreed to marry the poet. She quickly let him know that she knew the score.
26. She Was Insensitive
Despite his preferences, Losch’s new husband's infatuation with her was undeniable—in fact, he was the source of the previously mentioned gushing quote that referred, among other things, to her “nose like a little cat’s”.
On the night of their wedding, the newlyweds took a westbound express train, and her new husband entered Losch’s compartment intending to consummate the marriage. The dancer immediately denied his advances, however, cruelly protesting, “But Edward, my darling, you’re a pansy!” Despite her hurtful remarks, however, James’s love remained passionate.
27. She Received Gestures
James would express his love for Tilly Losch in touching and creative ways. One day, at his Monkton House estate in West Sussex, Losch finished bathing and climbed the spiral staircase, but her feet were still wet. The footprints she left in her wake provided the perfect opportunity for her husband to do the most romantic gesture imaginable. He had a carpet made for the stairs, with her footprints woven into the design.
He threw his money around for her too, of course.
28. She Got Spoiled
In addition to his heartwarming expressions of love, James was also a passionate advocate of Losch’s career and became something of a patron. His most significant act of patronage occurred in 1933 when he founded a ballet company for his wife, named Les Ballets 1933. The troupe performed regularly in London and Paris, with Losch dancing to her heart’s content.
These acts of love did not stop her infidelity, however, and she even graduated beyond men…
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29. She Batted For The Other Team
Losch’s husband commissioned German composer Kurt Weill and writer Bertolt Brecht to come to London and create a production in which his wife could star. This ended up being The Seven Deadly Sins, starring Tilly Losch and singer Lotte Lenya. But Losch repaid his kindness in a scandalous way.
Carl Van Vechten, Wikimedia Commons
30. She Had Her Eye On Marlene Dietrich
Tilly Losch struck up a tawdry affair with co-star Lotte Lenya. Her encounters with women didn’t stop there, however. She later also engaged in a romantic liaison with none other than superstar actress Marlene Dietrich. But one act of rebellion was, finally, the last straw for the ballerina’s aggrieved husband.
Paramount Pictures, Josef von Sternberg, Wikimedia Commons
31. She Went Behind Her Husband’s Back
James and Losch did eventually consummate their marriage, and at one point, she even got pregnant. But she had no desire for children. Without telling James, she terminated the pregnancy. His reaction was horrifying. James was so angry when he found out—he cursed his wife as "a dirty swine, a dirty gold digger, filthy vermin".
They didn’t last long after that.
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32. She Got Dumped
By 1934, James had had enough, and he filed for divorce from Losch, citing her alleged adultery with Russian-American hotel executive Prince Serge Obolensky as his justification. The shocking story claims that Losch and the Prince made love on top of the Empire State Building half a year into her marriage to James.
Despite all her adultery, however, Losch’s husband was something of a hypocrite.
Savely Sorin, Wikimedia Commons
33. Her Husband Was Unfaithful
Though he was not shy in accusing Losch of infidelity, James was no monogamous angel himself. Indeed, it appears neither spouse could remain faithful. On their honeymoon in Hawaii, James reportedly had intimate encounters with various beach boys. He seemed to prefer blue-collar type, with one of his favorite paramours being an Italian bus driver.
During divorce proceedings, Losch tried to use this information to her advantage.
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34. She Clapped Back
Attempting to get as much from the divorce proceedings as she could, Losch opted to file a countersuit, claiming that her husband was gay, and she was, thus, entitled to better compensation. The suit failed, however, and after they finalized the divorce, James signaled that he was done with the ballerina forever.
35. She Got Wiped From Her Ex’s Life
After the divorce, James was sickened by a reminder of Losch, the woven footprints on the staircase, permanently etched into his home. He promptly had the staircase moved to West Dean College, where it is still viewable today. Ever the artist, however, James could not let a good idea go to waste.
He had the staircase carpet replaced with a comparable version, but with one essential tweak. Instead of his ex-wife's footprints, it featured his dog’s footprints. Now newly single, Tilly Losch returned her focus, for a little while, to her career.
36. She Kept Acting
Growing restless within the confines of the world of dance, Losch once again extended her work into drama, taking on much more significant speaking roles. She was, as it turns out, a very talented thespian, and saw massive success and popularity as a stage actress in England. With her signature savviness, she used her new position as a launching pad to greater heights still.
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37. She Hit Stage And Screen
With her success onstage, Losch gained enough notoriety to break into Hollywood and launched a relatively successful career on the silver screen. Some of her biggest supporting roles included Limelight, The Garden of Allah, and Duel in the Sun. She never quite broke through to starring roles, however, and, unsatisfied, turned her acting and choreography career toward Broadway instead.
All this tireless work, however, would soon take its toll.
Screenshot from The Garden of Allah, United Artists (1936)
38. She Burned Out
After years and years of hard grinding, time-consuming affairs, and international travel, Losch began to feel severely despondent and was diagnosed with clinical depression. After burning so brightly for so long, the young starlet felt completely spent, and a restful stay at a medical facility led her to a massive life decision.
Rudolf Koppitz, Wikimedia Commons, Enhanced
39. She Checked In And Checked Out
Following her diagnosis, Losch signed herself in to a sanatorium in Switzerland for some rest, relaxation, and recovery. While there, she thought long and hard about where her life had led her, and upon leaving the sanatorium, came to a shocking decision: she chose to abandon dance forever.
With her newfound status of semi-retirement, she figured she would finally settle down as well.
Unknown. Studio: White Studio, N.Y., Wikimedia Commons
40. She Hitched Herself To Another Man
Around this time, Losch met Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon, and, unsurprisingly, he fell hard for her. The Earl was a rich man, and so, naturally, she agreed to marry him. The quiet ceremony took place in a London register office before it opened for the day on September 1, 1939. Known officially now as the Countess of Carnarvon, Losch's new family through marriage were none too pleased.
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41. She Was Suspected
Losch’s new husband, known as Porchy, was a little older than the retired ballerina. The marriage disgusted his family, and they immediately distrusted Losch and her gold-digger reputation that preceded her. In the words of one writer, the Carnarvon family “marveled at how he could ever think to take such a shop-soiled and frankly dangerous woman for his wife”.
The Earl was no angel himself, however.
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42. Her Husband Was A Pest
Losch’s new husband, the Earl of Carnarvon, had a shady reputation himself as something of a deviant. He was an unattractive man who would often sleazily try to ensnare other men’s wives. Many knew him for his obnoxious demeanour at parties, but that wasn't even the worst part.
One of the most off-putting alleged stories was that he had a habit of knocking on the doors of his prospective mistresses “with a certain portion of his anatomy”. Regardless of all this, though, Losch now had access to his resources, and she put them to good and healing use.
![AUSTRIA - JANUARY 01: Tilly Losch, prima ballerina from the Viennese Opera (No. 1599). Photography. 1925. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images) [Die Solotaenzerin der Wiener Staatsoper Tilly Losch (No. 1599). Wien. Photographie um 1925.]](https://www.factinate.com/storage/app/media/factinate/2026/8/28/25-1.jpg)
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43. She Expressed Some More
While recovering from her bout with depression, Losch discovered a new outlet for self-expression in the form of painting. She began experimenting with watercolors, then with oils, and specialized in portraits, first of herself and then later of friends, including one of her former lovers, Lotte Lenya. But as Losch busied herself with harnessing her peace, Europe hurtled in the opposite direction.
44. She Got Sent Away
With the ongoing rise of a certain dictator in Germany, the danger of conflict in Europe was increasing by the day. Losch’s husband, aware of her delicate health, grew concerned for his wife’s well-being in such a stressful environment, and sent her to live in the United States. As with her previous stint in New York, she flourished once again.
Universal History Archive, Getty Images
45. She Showed Off Her Talents
By 1944, Losch was quite the painter, and her talent was such that a gallery gave her the opportunity to mount her first exhibition in New York City. Like her dancing, acting, and choreography before, her artistic talent dazzled critics, and she began exhibiting around the world, with prominent art collectors purchasing some of her works.
It was not a complete reinvention of her creativity, however, but rather a synthesis.
46. She Mixed Media
Drawing on her wealth of experience, Losch skillfully implemented visual elements of dance into her painted works. Her art was conscientious of the times as well: she would often place her subjects on backgrounds that called to mind scenes of the devastating ongoing conflict in Europe. She won more and more acclaim as her style developed. Unfortunately, she had a thorn in her side that she had to forcefully remove.
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47. She Tired Of Her Husband
By 1947, Losch had grown truly tired of her lecherous husband, and finally managed to divorce him. This empowered her to live the remainder of her days as a traveling artist. Losch lived out the rest of her life in artistic bliss. She commuted between London and New York, painting and exhibiting her works, making a decent living.
Her contentment was evident nowhere more than in the sheer number of years she had post-divorce.
48. She Lived A Long Life
28 years after her divorce, Losch received a cancer diagnosis and didn’t survive much longer after that. She drew her last breath on Christmas Eve of 1975, at the ripe old age of 72. After an amazing life of promiscuity, creativity, and adventure, many mourners attended her funeral—including one who probably annoyed her beyond the grave.
49. Her Ex Showed Up
Losch’s funeral was a well-attended tribute to the widely respected artist, but unfortunately, she no longer had any control over the guest list. Among the mourners at her memorial was her despised ex-husband, the Earl of Carnarvon. She could rest easily knowing, however, that her estate gave her remains a rest befitting her status.
Donaldson Collection, Getty Images
50. She Rests Like Royalty
Losch’s ashes were interred on the grounds of Leopoldskron Castle in Salzburg, the city where she staged so many great performances. From humble beginnings and lower-class Russian parents, this unassuming Jewish girl rose to titanic heights that earned her a resting place among royalty.
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