Maria Elisabeth Riva (née Sieber; born 13 December 1924) is an American actress, writer and activist. She worked on television in the 1950s. She is the daughter of actress Marlene Dietrich, about whom she published a memoir in 1992.

Riva’s biography of her mother, Marlene Dietrich, was published in 1992, the year of Dietrich’s death. The book was well-received and went on to become a New York Times Best Seller.[15]

In 2001, Riva co-authored a photography book consisting of unseen images of her mother Marlene Dietrich. In 2005, Riva edited a volume of Dietrich’s poetry, Nachtgedanken, which was published in Germany and Italy.

Riva published her first novel, You Were There Before My Eyes: A Novel, in 2017. The novel is about a woman who leaves her Italian village and enters a new world as an immigrant in Detroit.[16]

In 2017, Riva also published the 25th anniversary edition of the biography of her mother, re-titled Marlene Dietrich: The Life.

Books in order of publication:

Marlene Dietrich by Her Daughter1993
You Were There Before My Eyes2017
Marlene Dietrich: The Life2017