For today's Throwback Thursday, I want to take a look at one of the most legendary pinup models of all time - if not THE most legendary. Let's talk about the one and only Bettie Page.
Bettie Page was an all-American model who was incredibly bright. This southern belle from Nashville finished high school second in her class and started her post-college career as a teacher - which she hated. Thank goodness she hated teaching because she left that job to pursue entertainment. She claimed she hated teaching because the male students would give her a hard time. It's clearly because they were hot for teacher.
She moved to California as a young lady shortly after she married her first hubby at 19. While her husband went away to fight the war, she entered a modeling contest. It became clear that she could actually make a living off of modeling!
She ended up moving to Los Angeles and got a screen test, but it did not pan out as planned. That's okay because she was bitten by the bug! She wanted to try acting and decided to move all the way across the country to New York City to become an actress.
She had to make ends meet, so she did some modeling for amateur photographers and found work as a pin-up model as she continued to try her hand at acting auditions. A lot of these amateur photos were, of course, erotic photography. That's how she landed herself in the world of pinup modeling!
Her modeling is definitely what took off. She posed for so many photographers in the 1950s and was even Miss January 1955 in a very early Playboy. She was succeeded by Jayne Mansfield of all people. She was thrilled to be able to pay her bills with her looks alone, so she dove right into it.
A little bit of nudity did not bother Ms. Page who was even arrested alongside three other models for posing topless for photos on the side of a highway. She actually pleaded not guilty for indecent exposure and convinced the judge that there was nothing indecent about her body.
The judge bought it! He clearly took one look at her and thought 'you're absolutely right!'. Thus the charge was brought down to disorderly conduct. She really was smart and sexy, so she knew how to talk her way out of that charge.
Irving Klaw and his sister Paula loved to produce and make bondage photos and they soon learned about Bettie. They offered her a contract which she went along with because she said she could make more money in an hour modeling than she could in a week of secretary work.
Bettie honestly had a good time modeling, especially since they were photoshoots and sexploitation flicks with other women. She really loved being naked outside. She called posing nude outdoors an "air bath".
Here's another fun fact about Bettie: she made most of her bikinis!
In the late 1950s, Irving Klaw had to deal with an obscenity trial. Bettie was not involved in the trial, but this stopped a lot of work for her and for the Klaws. What she did next is truly wild. She shockingly converted to evangelical Christianity and even studied at Bible college and worked for Billy Graham.
Her Bible college peers said that she had a lot of religious fervor which was even too much for some of them. Unfortunately for her, her plans to go on a mission trip were thwarted when mental illness got the better of Bettie. She was treated in a psychiatric hospital for paranoid schizophrenia after having a few incidents where she threatened and assaulted people in public.
As she was in the hospital for treatment for ten whole years, her star rose and she had no idea about it. Old photos of hers were suddenly enjoying a resurgence and the graphic novel The Rocketeer was made that used Bettie's imagery in it. She was a niche icon for years, but in the 1980s her career saw some newfound respect. In 1991, The Rocketeer was adapted into a film and the public went into full-on Bettie Page worship.
Now that everyone knew who she was, she had to deal with real fame later in life. She fought for the rights of some of her work so that she can actually see some mint from the moment. There was even a film made about her called The Notorious Bettie Page starring Gretchen Mol. She apparently hated the film about her. She left the screening ranting about how it's all lies.
She passed away in 2008, but she will always be fondly remembered for making pinup work playful, fun, and HOT. She continues to stand out amongst other models because of the absolute joy she exhibits in her work. She appeared to enjoy herself and her sexuality in everything she did and that has had real staying power.
