Margot Fonteyn was born as Margaret Hookham in England in 1919. Many consider her to be the greatest English ballerina of all time. She received the title of Dame when she was 35 from Britain’s Queen. Fonteyn had a sparkling career and encouraged artists of all kinds to share their ideas to find deeper meaning in their work.

 

The young Margaret signed up for ballet classes when she was very young. She joined Britain’s Royal Ballet while still a teenager. Her exceptional talent was clear to see and by 1939, she was the star of her ballet company. She wowed TV audiences with her role as Aurora in Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. Her breathtaking grace helped bring ballet to new audiences.

 

In 1949, she toured the United States and became an instant celebrity. Her status as a ballet great arrived at the time most of her peers thought she would retire. In 1961 she danced with the great Rudolf Nureyev. Their partnership lasted until her retirement in 1979 and is still the greatest the ballet world has witnessed. They became lifelong friends.

 

Fonteyn was, incredibly, 59 years old when she retired. She spent her final years living with her diplomat husband in Panama. She summed up her life by saying: "The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous." Fonteyn died of cancer in 1979.