Swimmer and movie star Esther Williams dies at 91 A 1950 publicity photo of Esther Williams originally released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Esther Williams at the 2004 funeral service for dancer and actor Ann Miller in Los Angeles. Esther Williams rehearsing her underwater-ballet for the movie Ziegfeld Follies in 1944. AS A teenager, Esther Williams dreamed of Olympic glory on the US swim team. She had to settle instead for becoming a movie star in the golden era of Hollywood. The self-described "Million Dollar Mermaid," whose wholesome beauty, shapely figure and aquatic skills launched an entire genre of movies - the Technicolor "aqua musicals" - has died at 91. Williams died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Beverly Hills, the actor's representative Harlan Boll said. She was remembered for her screen fame but also her influence on fashion and on synchronised swimming, the Olympic sport inspired by her cinematic water ballet. Williams followed in the footsteps of Sonja Henie - who went from skating champion to movie star - and became one of Hollywood's biggest moneymakers after she lost the chance to compete in the Olympics when they were cancelled due to the onset of World War II. She appeared in glittering swimsuit numbers that featured towering fountains, waterfalls, pools, lakes, slides, water skis and anything else that involved water. "The girl you will dream about!" raved the 1944 trailer for Bathing Beauty, the first big aqua musical. It showed a smiling Williams posing in a bright pink one-piece suit with the pointy chest popular at the time, a matching pink bow in her hair. Co-starring Red Skelton, the show was first called Mr. Coed. But MGM executives changed the title when they realized how big she was going to be during filming, according to a biography on Williams' website. "No one had ever done a swimming movie before," Williams said later. So we just made it up as we went along. I ad-libbed all my own underwater movements. That film was followed by many more. "It appeared as if I had invited the audience into the water with me," Williams said, "and it conveyed the sensation that being in there was absolutely delicious." Such films as Easy to Wed, Neptune's Daughter and Dangerous When Wet all followed the same formula: romance, music, a bit of comedy and a flimsy plot that provided excuses to get Williams in the water. "They were the ultimate example of Hollywood escapism," says film historian Leonard Maltin. To their endless credit, the studio seized upon this asset - a beautiful, graceful woman - and figured out a way to make her a movie star. Williams' film extravaganzas dazzled a second generation via television and the compilation film That's Entertainment. Her co-stars included the pick of the MGM contract list, including Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Howard Keel. She also was a favorite swimsuit pinup for GIs in World War II, and a refreshing presence among MGM's stellar gallery - warm, breezy, with a frankness and self-deprecating humour that delighted interviewers. As news of her death spread, pinup shots of her circulated on Twitter. Three-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Rowdy Gaines tweeted: "Esther Williams...our first female Michael Phelps...RIP." USA Synchro, the governing body of US synchronised swimming, also paid tribute. "Her movies with a swimming theme inspired many young girls and women to get into the pool and try to copy her movements," said Judy McGowan, the group's president. Williams also left her mark on the swimwear industry, popularising styles that showed just enough cleavage and leg, without being too risque. Her signature suits were colorful, with flattering ruching. She later turned them into a business, forming her own swimwear label. "Swimwear during that period was all about creating the hourglass shape," says Janie Bryant, a current Hollywood costume designer. The bust, the waist, the hips. There's been a whole resurgence in the love of vintage and appreciating the hourglass figure that she helped make famous. The bathing caps also were "decorative and fabulous," said Bryant, who designs for the 1960s-era TV show Mad Men. When hard times signaled the end of big studios and costly musicals in the mid-1950s, Williams tried non-swimming roles - with little success. Lamas' son, actor Lorenzo Lamas, tweeted: "My stepmom Esther Williams passed peacefully this morning. The best swim teacher and soul mom. She was born on August 8, 1921, in Inglewood, a suburb southwest of Los Angeles, one of five children. In 1939, she won the Women's Outdoor Nationals title in the 100m freestyle, set a record in the 100m breaststroke and was a part of several winning relay teams. But the outbreak of war in Europe led to cancellation of the 1940 Olympics, and Williams dropped out of competition to earn a living. She laughed at the suggestion that she do films that would popularise swimming, as Henie had done with ice skating. Among them: Thrill of a Romance, Take Me out to the Ballgame and Million Dollar Mermaid (as Annette Kellerman, an earlier swimming champion turned entertainer). Having popularized synchronised swimming with her movies, she was co-host of the event on television at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.