Margot Fonteyn

Margot Fonteyn was the Royal Ballet's defining ballerina for four decades, and her partnership with Rudolf Nureyev beginning in 1962—when she was 42 and he was 24—produced performances of *Giselle* and *Swan Lake* that remain the interpretive standard today. Appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1956, she later received the rare title prima ballerina assoluta, awarded only five times in ballet history. Frederick Ashton built 10 major roles for her, including the 1958 *Ondine*, which required 85 counts of breath control in a single solo. Her international tours with Nureyev in the 1960s sold out 95% of venues, cementing her legacy as a global icon.