Bettie Page

Bettie Mae Page (born April 22, 1923), sometimes known as Betty Page, is an American model and pin-up girl, active mostly in the 1950s. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Page's parents divorced when she was 10 years old, forcing her and her sister to live for a year at an orphanage. A strong student in high school, she reportedly missed earning the title of school valedictorian and a scholarship to Vanderbilt University by a quarter of a grade point, but graduated from Peabody College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1943. She married Billy Neal, who had attended high school with her, but who shortly afterwards left her for active duty in World War II, and whom she divorced in 1947.

References and further reading

• Essex, Karen, and James L. Swanson. Bettie Page: The Life of a Pin-Up Legend. Los Angeles: General Publishing Group, 1996. ISBN 1881649628.
• Foster, Richard. The Real Bettie Page: The Truth About the Queen of the Pinups. Secaucus, N.J.: Carol Publishing Group/Birch Lane Press, 1997. ISBN 1559724323.