In 1907, when Annette Kellerman appeared on Revere Beach in a one-piece swimsuit ending in shorts above her knees, her bold choice created an uproar. Her legs, visible and daring by the standards of the day, led to her arrest for indecency.
Yet those same legs had made her a sensation: Kellerman, an Australian swimmer, held all the women’s world records by 1905.
Beyond the pool, she captivated audiences as a vaudeville star with breathtaking high dives and graceful underwater ballet, earning her the nickname “The Original Mermaid” in the press.
For Victorian-era beachgoers, however, Kellerman’s swimsuit was shockingly risqué. Women of the time entered the water in heavy black wool dresses that extended to the knee, complete with puffed sleeves, bloomers, long black stockings, bathing slippers, and often a ribboned swim cap.
Although modestly covered, Kellerman’s streamlined one-piece appeared shockingly bare in comparison—enough to be considered scandalous.
In a 1953 interview with the Boston Sunday Globe, Annette Kellerman recalled her 1907 arrest with a mix of amusement and disbelief.
“Me, arrested!” she exclaimed, reflecting on how the incident shocked her and her family, particularly her father, who had always seen her as his “innocent protected little girl.”
Fortunately, the judge was lenient, permitting her to wear the one-piece suit if she donned a full-length cape until reaching the water’s edge.
The Globe article noted Kellerman’s groundbreaking swimming accomplishments, noting her record-breaking feats that reshaped competitive swimming.
In 1905, she captured global attention by swimming three-quarters of the way across the English Channel in 10½ hours—a record at the time.
Kellerman also set a world record in the 100-yard dash, and two of her records held strong for years: her 26-mile swim from Dover to Ramsgate in 1908 and an impressive underwater time of 3 minutes, 27 seconds.
According to various sources, she often competed against men and frequently emerged victorious.
Kellerman remembered her Boston arrest as an unfortunate mix-up.“I was scheduled for a 13-mile meet in Boston and went to Revere Beach to train. There were ladies there in the fantastic beach costumes of the time, dresses, underwear, corsets, shoes complete to two antimacassars on their heads.’’
Kellerman’s one-piece swimming costumes became so popular that she launched her own fashion line, marking a new era in swimwear.
Apart from fashion, she played a key role in popularizing synchronized swimming and even authored a swimming manual, sharing her expertise with a wider audience.
Her influence extended into film, where she starred in several movies, often centered around aquatic themes.
In 1916, she made history as the star of A Daughter of the Gods, becoming the first major actress to appear nude in a Hollywood production.
Though Kellerman is credited with pioneering the modern swimsuit, she was less enthusiastic about the bikini, which took the world by storm following its 1946 debut.
In her Globe interview, she critiqued the new style, saying, “The bikini is a mistake. Only two women in a million can wear it, and it’s a very big mistake to try.”
She went on to argue that the bikini “shows too much” and creates an unflattering line on the leg, even on the best figures. In her view, a body looks most beautiful with “one beautiful, unbroken line.”
In 1908, after a study of 3,000 women, Harvard professor Dudley A. Sargent famously named Annette Kellerman the “Perfect Woman” due to her physical proportions, which closely resembled those of the Venus de Milo.
During her Fox film career, she was frequently promoted as “Australia’s Perfect Woman,” adding to her allure and celebrity.
Kellerman married her manager, American-born James Sullivan, in Danbury, Connecticut, on November 26, 1912.
A dedicated vegetarian throughout her life, she later owned a health food store in Long Beach, California, embodying her commitment to a healthy lifestyle.
She remained active well into her senior years, swimming and exercising almost until her final days.
She and her husband returned to live in Australia in 1970, and in 1974, she was honored by the International Swimming Hall of Fame at Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
After outliving her husband, she passed away at the age of 89 in Southport, Queensland, on November 6, 1975.
(Photo credit: The Boston Globe, article by Cristin Toussaint / Wikimedia Commons / Upscaled by RHP).