Annette Kellerman was perhaps the greatest female aquatic performer of all-time. Early on, her legs were in braces from age 6-13. She, of course, wouldn't let that stop her and swam instead until she started to set women's records. From Australia as a young woman, she swam the Thames, tried to swim Cross-Channel three times, performed spectacular 90-100 ft dives, and ended-up at the NY Hippodrome for live performances including water ballet. She is credited with using the one-piece bathing suit in public (that got her arrested in 1907) and the start of synchronized swimming. She was also one of the first female film stars to perform nude in the first million dollar movie by Fox. She lived to be 88 and was cremated- her ashes scattered across the Great Barrier Reef...

Esther Williams later portrayed her in the 1952 film "Million Dollar Mermaid". A photo of Annette Kellerman: http://www.twolia.com/blogs/heres-looking-like-you-kid/files/2010/01/annette-kellerman-on-board-signed.jpg