Betty Grable was a famous Hollywood actress and pin-up girl in the 1940s, known for her films and iconic swimsuit image. She worked hard on her films and was the highest paid female star in Hollywood. Despite a busy life and several marriages, she was committed to her family and friends. She died of lung cancer in 1973 and is remembered as a cultural icon.
Betty Grable was an iconic figure in American culture in the 1940s when she became the highest paid female star in Hollywood. Many people are familiar with Betty Grable’s famous pin-ups, but she has also starred in a large number of movies and musicals. Like many stars of her time, Grable worked very hard on her films, often appearing in multiple productions in the same year.
Betty Grable was born Elizabeth Ruth Grable in Saint Louis, Missouri on December 18, 1916. Her mother had high hopes that one of her three children would become an actress, and when it became apparent that none of her sisters would measure up, the Grable’s mother pressured her daughter to audition for various roles. The girl was accepted for several parts when she was a minor, but she didn’t start to become famous until she married fellow star Jackie Coogan, separating from her mother and negotiating some of her parts.
Among his many films were Down Argentine Way (1940), Coney Island (1943), Mother Worre Tights (1947) and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). She became a real box office attraction and was known as “Box Office Betty”. Like many movie stars, Betty Grable lived a very busy life that destroyed several marriages, but she also had two children with whom she was very close. Her biographers have indicated that her Grable was deeply committed to her family life and her friends, although she also enjoyed being a star.
While Grable’s films were quite popular in the 1940s, many people consider her more of a pin-up girl than an actress. Her pin-up career started to take off when a photographer snapped a now-famous image of Grable in a bathing suit, his back to the camera, flirtatiously peering over her shoulder. This type of swimsuit shot has now become archetypal, and this single image has appeared in countless publications across the United States.
Posters of Betty Grable traveled overseas with soldiers during WWII and she was regarded as one of the earliest and most beautiful pin-up stars of the era. Grable was also known as the “Million Dollar Legs Girl”, thanks to a famous insurance policy filed with Lloyd’s of London. Fox, Betty Grable’s firm, was concerned that the damage to Grable’s legs could spell the end of her career, so they negotiated the then-unusual insurance policy on her shapely legs.
On July 2, 1973, Betty Grable died of lung cancer. She was buried in the famous Inglewood Park Cemetery three days later and she will long be remembered as the “Best Figure of 1941”, along with her many other achievements.
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