Bettie Page, Unplugged and Undressed…

In 1940, Hume-Fogg High School voted a young girl as “most likely to succeed”. Little did they know that success was just an understatement for how far this girl actually went. Some know her as “The Queen of Curves” and some know her as “The Dark Angel”  but everyone would agree that she went down in history as the forever famous  Bettie Page.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee on April 22, 1923, Page became incredibly  independent at an early age. She was an older sister who took the role of a parent figure at age ten when her her father, Walter Page was imprisoned and her mother, Edna Pirtle worked full time as a hairdresser by day and laundry washer by night.

As a teenager, Page and her sisters taught themselves how to sew and started experimenting with make up and different hairstyles inspired by their favorite movie stars. This was the beginning to a life long career in a world based on materialism and appearance. Page journeyed into this lifestyle with hopes to become a famous movie star but came out with years of credit under her belt for pin up modeling and other sexually explicit forms of media. But none the less, she gained the title of an iconic American figure.

Photos of Page’s jet black curls and mid length bangs flooded New York’s erotic photography scene and were printed throughout various men’s magazines. Her coke bottle figure mixed with her fearless posing propped her up on a pedestal in no time. Her modeling was in high demand and even landed her quite a few film jobs. She was known for her specialized photos for select clientele of photographer Irving Klaw, where she performed acts of bondage, sadomasochism and fetishes for film and stills.

Shortly after, Page posed for Bunny Yeagar and together they created her most celebrated work; Jungle Bettie. This took place at Africa USA in Florida, as Page wore her own leopard print designs and went to work with two cheetahs by her side.

Yeager passed these photos on to Hugh Hefner who automatically fell in love with her and stated “I think that she was a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in the pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, someone who had a tremendous impact on our society”. He then awarded her playmate of the month and made her the centerfold for his January 1995 issue of Playboy Magazine.

Page continued modeling until 1957 but then converted to Christianity and no longer wanted anything to do with that lifestyle anymore. After that, her life was a roller coaster of emotions and post traumatic disorders that lead her to her death on December 11th, 2008. But throughout the time that she was no where to be found, her legacy still lived on and gained cult followings that still survive today.

For more on the Real Bettie Page and the Un-official Bettie Page Biography Tell-All Go here

 

If you Liked this post, or not, let me know!
Please post a comment below!

Related Posts

• Bunny Yeager – Pinup Photographer