About Eleanor Holm
Eleanor Grace Theresa Holm (December 6, 1912 – January 31, 2004) was an American competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. An Olympian in 1928 and 1932, Holm was expelled from the 1936 Summer Olympics team by Avery Brundage under controversial circumstances. Holm went on to have a high-profile career as a socialite and interior designer and co-starred in a Hollywood Tarzan movie, Tarzan's Revenge. == Biography == Holm was born in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of seven children of Charlotte (née Long) and Franklin Holm, a fireman and cousin to professional basketball player Bobby Holm. She graduated from Erasmus Hall High School. Holm learned to swim while very young, winning her first national swimming title at age 13. Holm was selected to compete in the 1928 Summer Olympics, where she finished fifth in her specialty, the 100-meter backstroke. Holm was also talented in several other strokes, winning several American titles in the 300-yard medley event. At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Holm won the gold medal in her favorite event, though defending champion Marie Braun had to forfeit the final due to an insect bite. "I was hardly dry at those Olympics when I was whisked from one studio to another – Warner Brothers, MGM, Paramount – to take screen tests," Holm told the New York Times in 1984.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.