Dita von Teese admits regret over not having kids as she explains what happened
The Queen of Burlesque opens up exclusively about her incredible career, her very rocky romance history - and her candid thoughts on why she never started a family
As the undisputed queen of burlesque, Dita Von Teese has been entertaining audiences in little more than a corset for three decades. Now she's bringing a new show, Diamonds And Dust, to London. But despite her remarkable career, the humble 52-year-old, who has performed for international royalty, A-list celebrities and billionaire entrepreneurs, says she never anticipated global fame at the beginning of her journey.
'I carved out a space for myself when I first started performing burlesque shows in the 90s when it wasn't really a thing,' she says. 'Then I was headlining shows in Vegas and the Crazy Horse in Paris and London and travelling all over the world and I'm very proud of that.
'I never thought I'd be globally successful. Never, ever. Not even once. It's been a crazy thing to watch, but that journey keeps me motivated to keep continuously evolving and changing people's minds about what a burlesque show is and making the whole burlesque movement even bigger.'
Helping her with that goal is none other than Taylor Swift, the one person who Dita would love to join her on stage this summer at the West End's newest theatre, The Emerald. The unlikely duo joined forces in 2022 – in giant Martini glasses – when the 14-times Grammy Award winning singer songwriter invited Dita to appear with her in the video for her single Bejeweled. 'If I needed a stand-in one night and she was in London, I'd definitely give Taylor a call,' says Dita. 'She could definitely pull it off.'
'Taylor is a super-smart girl,' says Dita, whose ability to seductively blend golden era Hollywood glamour and attention-grabbing stunts – like appearing in a giant powder compact or on a bucking bronco refashioned as an oversized lipstick – catapulted her to international stardom and the covers of magazines including Playboy and Vogue.
'We spoke on the phone first and she said she knew all about what I do and that I was an amazing performer, then she told me about the concept for the video, which was a sort of burlesque reinterpretation of Cinderella, where we both end up rotating in chest-high Martini glasses wearing just diamanté-studded bustiers.
'She said, 'I want you to appear alongside me in this video because I want people to know what you do.' She was extremely savvy and intelligent, and she just led the entire video shoot. It was amazing to watch her. I really enjoyed talking to her and getting to know her on that set.'
In her personal life, Dita has been with her partner, designer Adam Rajcevich since 2014 – seven years after her tumultuous divorce from goth rocker Marilyn Manson. The controversial musician faced sexual assault and domestic violence allegations until California prosecutors dropped all charges in January this year. Dita is delighted that her life today is a million miles away from the media circus it had become when she and Manson, real name Brian Warner, were together.
'I can look back on my divorce and laugh about it now,' says Dita, who was born Heather Renée Sweet in West Branch, Michigan. 'I can be like, 'Whoa. Remember when you divorced the rock star?' It was crazy, but you learn stuff from every situation. I got sick of having relationships in the public eye and I don't want to be part of one of those celebrity couples that slings s**t at each other on X.'
Dita is rarely photographed with her other half today and enjoys a discreet existence in her Tudor revival mansion at the foot of the Hollywood Hills. Adam is happy to pick up the domestic slack while she's in London choreographing and starring in her new show.
'The most romantic thing in my life right now is just that I can go off and do my thing, and I have someone who will take care of my kitties and call me every morning and send me video updates. That's super romantic to me. It's not like, 'Oh, you're gonna have to just take care of yourself,' or, 'Why aren't you here?' It really means a lot.'
The star – who also appeared on screen in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and on The Masked Dancer – looks at least a decade younger. A passionate advocate of clean living, minimal alcohol and even more minimal exposure to the UVA rays of the sun, she was disappointed to have to answer accusations from ITV viewers that her beauty is anything but natural, when she appeared as a guest on Lorraine in January.
'I was like, 'I have had no work done. I haven't even had Botox,' then I started going, 'Does my face look weird? Does my face look puffy? Do I look like I've had some injections?' Because honest to God I've not had any work done. I was like, 'I haven't even got started on any of that yet,' and I thought, 'Wow, it's weird to have people accusing you of having plastic surgery when you just haven't.''
But she didn't engage with her critics. 'I just left it alone. Somebody else said to me, 'Just look at it as a compliment.' People will never be satisfied. If you say what you did, they'll be mad. If you say that you didn't do anything, they think you're a liar. I don't know what to say. It's complicated.'
Dita has also grown tired of decades of questions asking her to justify her decision not to have children. 'Looking back at my life, I think, 'When would I have done that?'' says Dita, who has two sisters, Sarah and Jena. 'I do remember one time about 20 years ago Madonna telling me not to let motherhood pass me by and I remember thinking, 'Oh, well, I guess it has though.' Do I feel like she was right? I don't know. I'd just got divorced and then life happens and then suddenly you're like, 'Oh, here we are.''
The future for Dita may not involve motherhood, but it may well involve a new continent. 'After the fires, I'm definitely considering saying goodbye to LA,' says Dita. 'Do you think the UK will take me?' she asks. 'I can totally see myself in the British countryside. Maybe not London, but perhaps Ireland or Scotland.'
But whether in California or Cowdenbeath, she has no intention of hanging up her corset any time soon.
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Dita is rarely photographed with her other half today and enjoys a discreet existence in her Tudor revival mansion at the foot of the Hollywood Hills. Adam is happy to pick up the domestic slack while she's in London choreographing and starring in her new show. 'The most romantic thing in my life right now is just that I can go off and do my thing, and I have someone who will take care of my kitties and call me every morning and send me video updates. That's super romantic to me. It's not like, 'Oh, you're gonna have to just take care of yourself,' or, 'Why aren't you here?' It really means a lot.' The star – who also appeared on screen in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and on The Masked Dancer – looks at least a decade younger. 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Dita has also grown tired of decades of questions asking her to justify her decision not to have children. 'Looking back at my life, I think, 'When would I have done that?'' says Dita, who has two sisters, Sarah and Jena. 'I do remember one time about 20 years ago Madonna telling me not to let motherhood pass me by and I remember thinking, 'Oh, well, I guess it has though.' Do I feel like she was right? I don't know. I'd just got divorced and then life happens and then suddenly you're like, 'Oh, here we are.'' The future for Dita may not involve motherhood, but it may well involve a new continent. 'After the fires, I'm definitely considering saying goodbye to LA,' says Dita. 'Do you think the UK will take me?' she asks. 'I can totally see myself in the British countryside. Maybe not London, but perhaps Ireland or Scotland.' But whether in California or Cowdenbeath, she has no intention of hanging up her corset any time soon.
