Vera-Ellen was a renowned American dancer and actress who died on August 30, 1981. He is remembered for her works as a solo artist and with partners, including Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye, and Donald O’Connor. Her role that lingers in most people is On the Town, a 1949 film that he starred Gene Kelly.

What was Vera-Ellen’s Cause of Death?

Vera-Ellen passed away at The University of California LA Medica Center on August 30, 1981. She was 60 years old. Her cause of death was ruled to have been ovarian cancer. Her burial is at the Glen Haven Memorial Park in Sylmar, Ca.

Vera-Ellen Neck & Weight

Throughout her life, Vera maintained a thin body. There were rumors surrounding her neck, with most saying that she covered it during the filming of White Christmas. The thin neck was rumored to be a result of anorexia, an eating disorder causing people to obsess about weight and what they eat.. However, pictures and videos simultaneously show her neck appearing normal and undamaged.

A childhood friend Bill Dennington who she had known for the past 20 years, dismissed the story about her neck and added that he hated “that people think of her as ‘the dancer with anorexia’ and not just the fabulous dancer who has been so overlooked.”

Vera-Ellen Husband / Marriages

Throughout her lifetime, Vera-Ellen was married twice. Her first marriage was to fellow dancer Robert Hightower. Their marriage lasted for five years, from Feb 1941 to November 1946.

She wed her second husband, Victor Rothschild, a millionaire of the Rothschild family. They were married from 1954 to 1966, when they divorced. While married to Rothschild, she gave birth to a daughter, Victoria Ellen, who died in 1963 at three months from SIDS. Following the death of her only child, she withdrew from public life.

Vera-Ellen Parents

Vera-Ellen, whose full name was Vera-Een Westmeier Rohe, was born in Norwood, Ohio. Her parents were  Martin F. Rohe, a piano dealer, and Alma C. Westmeier. Both were descended from German immigrants. Her hyphenated first name originated in a dream that her mother had and that her mother saw in the “Lights.”

Vera-Een journey as a dancer began when she was ten years old and quickly became proficient. One of her fellow dance students at Hessler Studio of Dancing was Doris Day. At age 13, she won the Major Bowes Amateur Hour[6] and embarked on a professional career.