Episode
Sonja Henie: The Norwegian Figure Skater Who Conquered Olympic Ice and Hollywood
- Podcast
- pplpod
- Published
- Jun 14, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1364
- Processing state
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- https://rss.com/podcasts/pplpod/2914766
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Summary
Sonja Henie won three consecutive Olympic gold medals in figure skating, then walked away from amateur sports and became one of the highest-paid entertainers in Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s. She revolutionized both figure skating and the business of sports celebrity — proving that an Olympic champion could build a media empire long before the concept existed. This episode traces Henie from her Norwegian childhood through the three Olympic golds, her Hollywood film career, her controversial wartime associations with Nazi officials, and the fortune she amassed as the first athlete to fully monetize Olympic fame. Henie's childhood training and the three consecutive Olympic gold medals that made her a global star Her revolutionary transition from amateur skating to Hollywood box-office sensation The controversial photographs with Nazi officials and questions about her wartime sympathies The art collection, the business empire, and the template she set for athlete-celebrity careers