Jenny Dolly was part of the popular dancing duo The Dolly Sisters but her life ended in tragedy
She was born Janka Deutsch on October 24, 1892 in Budapest, Hungary. Jenny had an identical twin sister named Rosie. The family immigrated to the United States in 1904. During their childhood the twins began dancing together in vaudeville. In 1911 Flo Ziegfeld saw them one stage and hired them to be in the Ziegfeld Follies. The duo, known as The Dolly Sisters, quickly became one of the show's most popular acts. Jenny married dancer Harry Fox in 1912. Soon after she started performing professionally with her husband. The beautiful brunette made her film debut in the 1915 film The Call Of The Dance. The following year she and Rosie reunited to dance in Follies where they earned more than $2000 a week. They also costarred in the semi-autobiographical film The Million Dollar Dollies. Jenny's marriage Harry to ended in 1921. Then she and Rosie moved to France and bought a lavish chateau. The sisters performed in theaters all over Europe while being courted by wealthy admirers. Jenny developed a passion for gambling and for buying expensive jewelry. On one occasion she won $200,000 at a casino. She started dating sixty-five year old millionaire Harry Selfridge in 1925. There were rumors that Rosie Dolly also had an affair with Harry.
The Dolly Sisters ~ Jenny & Rosie
Jenny with her daughters in 1941
By 1929 their popularity was waning and the Dolly Sisters retired from performing. Although Jenny was still involved with Harry she began dating Max Consant, a French Pilot. In 1933 Harry offered her $10 million to marry him. Before giving him an answer she went on a vacation with Max. During the trip their car crashed and Jenny was seriously injured. Her stomach had been displaced into her lung chamber and she needed numerous plastic surgeries to reconstruct her face. Harry helped her pay the medical bills but their romance ended. She fell into a deep depression and moved back to the United States. In an interview she said "I may look the same but I am just a broken shell." The bankrupt dancer was forced to sell all of her jewelry. Jenny married Bernard Vinissky, a wealthy lawyer, in 1935. The couple adopted two Hungarian orphans - Kalri and Manzi. Unfortunately by 1941 they had separated and she was living in a modest apartment with her daughters. Tragically on June 1, 1941 she committed suicide by hanging herself from a curtain rod. Jenny was only forty-eight years old. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. When Rosie Dolly died in 1970 she was buried with her twin sister. Betty Grable played Jenny Dolly in the 1947 film The Dolly Sister.
Jenny Dolly and her sister Rosie
