Bettie Page was born on 22 April 1923, in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father, Roy, was an auto-mechanic. Her mother, Edna, was part Cherokee. Her parents divorce in 1933, when she is 10 years old. Bettie and her two sisters are sent to an orphanage in Nashville for a year.
Attends Hume-Fog High School, makes straight A's, participates in the debate club and school plays. Edits the school newspaper and yearbook. Rarely dates.
Graduates in 1940. Recalls that she was "crushed" to have barely missed being named valedictorian by .25%, and loses the opportunity for a 4 year scholarship at Vanderbilt University.
Enrolled in the Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville on a "Daughters of the American Revolution Scholarship." She is graduated with a B.A. degree in 1944.
Marries Billy Neal sometime in late 1941. He is immediately inducted into the Armed Forces. Bettie moves to San Francisco with her sister.
Earns a screen test with 20th Century Fox in 1945, which does not go well. She finds work as a secretary and occasionally models for a fur company.
Works as a secretary in Haiti for six months in 1947. Upon her return to the States, obtains a divorce from her husband.
She moves to New York, works as a secretary, and continues to unsuccessfully pursue an acting career. Does open air modeling work for a lot of amateur "camera clubs" to earn extra money. At one of these sessions, in which as many as 60 photographers were present, the police made some arrests. Bettie escaped, but the photographer Weegee was taken in.
Meets Jerry Tibbs, a policeman and part-time photographer, on the beach at Coney Island in the summer of 1950. He suggests that she comb her bangs down in front to compensate for her high forehead. The Bettie Page look is born.
Begins working full-time as a pin-up model. Meets Irving Klaw in 1951, who photographs her in various states of bondage. Bettie begins to attain some renown as the "Queen of Bondage." At the time, most of these photo sessions were sold on a lucrative subscription basis. The customers often made specific requests as to the scenes and layouts. Bettie is said to have found many of these quite amusing.
...Appears as a performer in Strip-o-Rama, a burlesque film starring Lili St. Cyr, the famed Vegas showgirl, in 1953. Varietease (1954) and Teaserama (1955) soon follow. With Klaw producing, she makes at least 50 series of infamous 100 ft. short stag films. (Much of this work can be seen in the video Uncovered.)
Around this time, Howard Hughes contacted Klaw about meeting Bettie and bringing her under his aegis, but she declined the offer.
In 1954, she meets Bunny Yeager in Florida. Their sessions together generate some of the most famous Bettie Page photographs. Some of these were sent to Hugh Hefner, who made Bettie Playmate of the month for the January 1955 issue of Playboy. Amazingly, Bettie is 3 months short of 32 years of age at this point.
Irving Klaw is arrested for "conspiracy to distribute obscene material" though the US Mail in 1963. Bettie is called to testify in a private session. She is reported to have said the Klaw was absolutely innocent of any charge.
Around this time, a "pornographer" is said to have placed Bettie's head on another woman's body. Greatly disturbed by this, Bettie spends much of her savings buying up the photographs. Burned out on the modeling business, Bettie retires and leaves New York.
Marries Armond Walterson in 1958, live in Key West, Florida. The union doesn't work out. On 31 December 1959, Bettie has a religious experience and is "born again", dedicates herself to Christianity.
Over the next few years, she works for various Christian organizations, then returns to Nashville in 1963. She briefly remarries Billy Neal, perhaps to help her to gain entrance into missionary work. But this remarriage is also a failure. Irving Klaw dies in 1966. Bettie moves to Florida in 1967, marries Harry Lear and divorces him in 1972.
Lives in Los Angeles with her brother as the Bettie Page cult builds through the 80's. In a 1993 interview via telephone, she told a reporter from The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous that she had no knowledge of any of this, telling him that she was "penniless and infamous."
Recently, she has hired a law firm to help her recoup some of the profits being made with her likeness.
...It has been estimated that over 20,000 photographs of Bettie have been taken.
With locks as dark as midnight and a smile as bright as day, Bettie Page was much more than a beautiful pin-up model, she was simply the best. A legend as much today as during her modeling days, every facet of Bettie’s life and personality captures the interest and devotion of the thousands of fans that followed her career until the day of her mysterious disappearance.
Bettie’s numerous contradictions undoubtedly added to her charismatic personality. Nice and naughty, shy and daring, simple and exotic, Bettie shone with a freshness never before seen in the modeling scene. Without elaborate props, costumes, or set-dressings, Bettie produced some of the most beautiful shots to ever grace the covers of hundreds of magazines. Bettie’s smoothly tanned skin, deep blue eyes and coal-black hair with her trademark bangs, were enough inspiration to spark the imagination of even the least experienced photographers. Her "girl next door" look and innocent smile only complemented that explosive combination of features.
Born on April 21, 1923, in Nashville, Tennessee, Bettie was the second of Walter Roy Page and Edna Mae Pirtle’s six children. During Bettie’s early years, the Page family traveled around the country in search of economic stability. At a tender age, Bettie had to face the responsibilities of caring for her younger siblings as well as helping her mother with the house chores.
Soon, problems between Bettie’s parents led to a divorce, which only worsened the family’s financial situation. In order to support her family, Edna worked as a hairdresser during the day and washed laundry at night. When Bettie was only 10 years old, her mother placed her and her two sisters in an orphanage while she worked and saved money.
As a teenager, Bettie and her sisters spent countless hours trying different makeup styles and hairdos imitating their favorite movie stars. At the local community centers, Bettie learned to cook and sew, the latter, a skill that proved particularly useful years later when Bettie made her own bikinis and costumes. In these centers, a young Bettie sought refuge from her home and found enough peace and tranquillity to do homework and study. It was her hard work and determination that kept Bettie at the top of her class during her high school years. As a student, she was a member and program director of the Dramatics Club, secretary treasurer of the Student Council, co-editor of the school’s newspaper and yearbook; she was even voted "Most Likely to Succeed."
As the Salutatorian of her class, Bettie won a $100 scholarship to Peabody College where she studied education while dreaming of becoming an actress. In February 1943, Bettie married her boyfriend of two years, Billy Neal. After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree from Peabody College, Bettie moved to San Francisco to be with Billy. It was in San Francisco that Bettie got her first modeling job at a local furrier where Bettie modeled fur coats for clients.
For the next few years, the free-spirited Bettie traveled from San Francisco to Nashville to Miami, even to Portau-Prince, Haiti, where she fell in love with the country and its culture. Back in the United States, in November 1947, Bettie filed for divorce from Billy and moved to New York. In 1950, during a walk along the Connie Island shore, Bettie met Jerry Tibbs, a police officer with an interest in photography. Tibbs took pictures of Bettie and put together her first pin-up portfolio. Little did Bettie know how much her life was about to change.
Tibbs introduced Bettie to numerous other photographers including Cass Carr who organized out-door photographic sessions, which Bettie intensely enjoyed. In a matter of months, Bettie’s modeling career had taken off. Camera clubs led to posing for various magazines such as Wink, Eyeful, Titter, and Beauty Parade. But it wasn’t until her photographs were published in Robert Harrison’s magazines that Bettie became a pin-up star beyond comparison. In 1955, Bettie won the title "Miss Pin-Up Girl of the World." In January 1955, she was the centerfold in Playboy’s January issue. She was even named the "Girl with the Perfect Figure," with her photographs appearing in everything from record albums to playing cards.
In 1953, Bettie auditioned for an apprenticeship at Sea Cliff Summer Theater in Long Island where she studied acting under the tutelage of Herbert Berghoff. With Berghoff’s encouragement, Bettie secured several roles in various New York productions as well as various television appearances. Her off-Broadway productions included Time is a Thief and Sunday Costs Five Pesos. Bettie even appeared in the Jackie Gleason show.
While living and working in New York, Bettie often returned to Florida. During these trips south, she frequently posed for photographers Jan Caldwell, H.W. Hannau, and Bunny Yeager who often featured Bettie outdoors, in boats, and at the beach.
In 1957, Bettie left New York for good and moved to Florida, her modeling career would end at the top of its popularity. On November 26, 1958, Bettie married her second husband, Armond Walterson. During the following months, Bettie tried numerous jobs, and she traveled to numerous states including California, Tennessee, Illinois, and Oregon. In 1963, Bettie divorced Armond. She would later marry Harry Lear, a marriage that also ended in divorce.
Through the 1950’s and the 1960’s, Bettie Page re-surged as a modeling icon. The media, intrigued by her mysterious disappearance launched a country-wide search for Bettie. Comic books soon featured characters that resembled Bettie, contemporary artists such as Olivia, Dave Stevens, and Robert Blue immortalized their idol with their powerful images. Today, Bettie is enjoying her private life with her family.
Bettie’s undeniable influence is present still today in fashion, films, and magazines just to name a few. The dark-haired girl from Nashville has become a living legend, a modern icon, a symbol of beauty and femininity that transcends ordinary standards. In the heart of her adoring fans, Bettie will forever remain the queen of pin-up.
