Leni Riefenstahl was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1902. After working as a ballet dancer Riefenstahl became an actress and appeared in Der Heilige Berg in 1925. This was followed by leading roles in Der Grosse Sprung (1927), Die Weisse Hölle vom Piz Palü (1929) Stürme über dem Mont Blanc (1930) and The Blue Light (1932), which she also directed.

Adolf Hitler was a great admirer of Riefenstahl and in 1933 he appointed her as film executive of the Nazi Party. She made a series of films that reflected fascist ideology. This included Reichsparteitag (1935), a film of a party conference.

In Triumph of the Will (1935), Riefenstahl used over 35 cameramen to make a film of a Nazi Party rally at Nuremberg. Her next film, Olympia (1938), was a documentary on the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Joseph Goebbels was jealous of Riefenstahl's success and he managed to stop her from film, Tiefland (1944) from being completed.

After the Second World War Riefenstahl was initially blacklisted by the film industry. In 1952 she managed to finish Tiefland but Schwarze Fracht (1956) was not completed and Nuba (1977) was not released.

Leni Riefenstahl died in her sleep on 8th September, 2003.