Sonja Henie, The Original Star of the Winter Olympics

The time has come again for the Winter Olympic Games, the major international multi-sport competition held every four years which kicks off its opening ceremony today in Vancouver, Canada. This year's games to be held from February 12-28, 2010 and will feature winter sports held on snow or ice, such as Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, bobsledding, and ice hockey. In its history not has the Olympics given countries an opportunity to experience proud patriotism behind the finest athletes, the Winter Olympic stage has also birthed some impressive star power. Shaun White, Bode Miller, Lindsey Vonn and other stars of today were preceded by pioneers like one of ice skating's first superstars, Sonja Henie. First competing in the 1928 Olympics, Sonja quickly became the youngest Olympic skating champion at 15 years old. Sonja's unique talents couldn't be contained on the ice however, as she went to catapult into successful careers in acting and business. Her dynamic story is told in the film Sonja Henie: Queen of the Ice(1 x 53').

The daughter of a fur wholesaler, Sonja Henie received her first pair of ice skates when she was six. Eight years later, she was the Norwegian Skating Champion. At 15, she would win the gold medal in Skating at the 1928 Olympics, thus becoming the youngest Olympic skating champion — a record that stood for 70 years. She repeated as champion in 1932 and 1936. A ten-time World Champion Women"s Figure Skater, she was the first skater to parlay athletic success into a lucrative career. Sonia was able to catapult her popularity into a Hollywood acting career and later became a profitable businesswoman. A fascinating study into the skating world"s first superstar, the film, rich in vintage footage (including Henie"s home movies), gives insight into Henie"s life, her love of the Hollywood lifestyle, and her ambitious personality.

Sonja Henie: Queen of the Ice is narrated by Academy-award winning film star Cliff Robertson, and the DVD includes the French version of the documentary, &'Patineuse De Legende,&' as well as photo gallery. It is now available to DVD/video markets worldwide exclusively through Janson Media.