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Sonja Henie (April 8, 1912-October 12, 1969) was a
Norway|Norwegian figure skating|figure skater and
actress.


Born in Oslo, Henie took the gold medal in the
1928 Winter Olympics|1928, 1932 Winter
Olympics|1932 and 1936 Winter Olympics. She had
earlier placed eighth in a field of eight at the
1924 Winter Olympics, at the age of eleven. During
the 1924 program, she skated over to the side of
the rink several times to ask her coach for
directions. 

By the next Olympiad, she needed no such
assistance. She won her first of ten consecutive
World Figure Skating Championships in 1927 at the
age of fifteen, and her first Olympic
Games|Olympic gold medal the following year. She
also won six consecutive European championships.

She is credited with being the first to adopt the
short skirt costume in figure skating, and the
first to make use of dance
choreographer|choreography.  She was also an
accomplished tennis player.

After the 1936 Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen,
she gave up her amateur status and took up a
career as a professional performer in acting and
live shows.  She mostly performed in the United
States, but had triumphant shows in Norway in 1953
and 1955.  In 1938 she published her
autobiography, which was republished in a revised
edition in 1954.  In 1941, she became a
naturalized citizen of the United States.  She
retired from acting in 1958 with the film Hello,
London.  She became one of the wealthiest women in
the world in her time.

Henie was married three times, with Dan Topping,
Winthrop Gardner, and finally the shipowner Niels
Onstad.  Together, they accumulated a large
collection of modern art that formed the basis for
the Henie-Onstad Art Centre at Høvikodden, near
Oslo. 

She died in 1969 of leukemia, on a flight from
Paris to Oslo. Considered by most as the greatest
female figure skater in history, she and her
husband are buried on the hilltop overlooking the
Henie-Onstad Art Centre.

==Filmography==
*Seven Days for Elizabeth (1927)
*Se Norge (1929) (documentary)
*One in a Million (1936)
*Thin Ice (1937)
*Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937) (Cameo)
*Happy Landing (1938)
*My Lucky Star (1938)
*Second Fiddle (1939)
*Everything Happens at Night (1939)
*Sun Valley Serenade (1941)
*Iceland (1942)
*Wintertime (1943)
*It's a Pleasure (1945)
*The Countess of Monte Cristo (1948)
*Hello London (1958)

== Trivia ==
In 1938, at age 25, she became the youngest person
made a knight first class of the The Royal
Norwegian Order of St. Olav.

== External links ==

*http://www.zianet.com/jjohnson/sonja/index.html
Biographies, film listings and magazine cover
scans of Sonja Henie
*imdb name|id=0377012|name=Sonja Henie

	Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Sonja Henie (April 8, 1912-October 12, 1969) was a
Norway|Norwegian figure skating|figure skater and
actress.

==Summary==


Born in Oslo, Henie took the gold medal in the
1928 Winter Olympics|1928, 1932 Winter
Olympics|1932 and 1936 Winter Olympics. She had
earlier placed eighth in a field of eight at the
1924 Winter Olympics, at the age of eleven. During
the 1924 program, she skated over to the side of
the rink several times to ask her coach for
directions. 

By the next Olympiad, she needed no such
assistance. She won her first of ten consecutive
World Figure Skating Championships in 1927 at the
age of fifteen, and her first Olympic
Games|Olympic gold medal the following year. She
also won six consecutive European championships.

She is credited with being the first to adopt the
short skirt costume in figure skating, and the
first to make use of dance
choreographer|choreography.  She was also an
accomplished tennis player.

After the 1936 Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen,
she gave up her amateur status and took up a
career as a professional performer in acting and
live shows.  She mostly performed in the United
States, but had triumphant shows in Norway in 1953
and 1955.  In 1938 she published her
autobiography, which was republished in a revised
edition in 1954.  In 1941, she became a
naturalized citizen of the United States.  She
retired from acting in 1958 with the film Hello,
London.  She became one of the wealthiest women in
the world in her time.

Henie was married three times, with Dan Topping,
Winthrop Gardner, and finally the shipowner Niels
Onstad.  Together, they accumulated a large
collection of modern art that formed the basis for
the Henie-Onstad Art Centre at Høvikodden, near
Oslo. 

She died in 1969 of leukemia, on a flight from
Paris to Oslo. Considered by most as the greatest
female figure skater in history, she and her
husband are buried on the hilltop overlooking the
Henie-Onstad Art Centre.

==Records and Achievements==
* Three-time Olympic Champion (1928, 1932, 1936).
Highest ever in Ladies Singles.
* Ten-time World Champion (1927-1936). Highest
ever in Ladies Singles.
* Six-time European Champion (1931-1936).
* Inducted into the International Women's Sports
Hall of Fame (1982).

==Filmography==


*Seven Days for Elizabeth (1927)
*Se Norge (1929) (documentary)
*One in a Million (1936)
*Thin Ice (1937)
*Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937) (Cameo)
*Happy Landing (1938)
*My Lucky Star (1938)
*Second Fiddle (1939)
*Everything Happens at Night (1939)
*Sun Valley Serenade (1941)
*Iceland (1942)
*Wintertime (1943)
*It's a Pleasure (1945)
*The Countess of Monte Cristo (1948)
*Hello London (1958)

== Trivia ==
In 1938, at age 25, she became the youngest person
made a knight first class of The Royal Norwegian
Order of St. Olav.

== External links ==

*http://www.zianet.com/jjohnson/sonja/index.html
Biographies, film listings and magazine cover
scans of Sonja Henie
*imdb name|id=0377012|name=Sonja Henie
*http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/siforwomen/top_1
00/4/ CNNSI.com - 100 Greatest Female Athletes