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.

The years out of the spotlight

This renewed attention raised the inevitable question: what had happened to Bettie Page since the late 1950s? This question was answered in part with the publication of an official biography in 1996, Bettie Page: The Life of a Pin-up Legend. Her biography described a woman who dealt head-on with adversity, always looking forward, never looking back. It told how she had remarried her first husband briefly, in order to satisfy requirements so she could become a missionary; neither the remarriage nor her missionary work was a success. She married a third time in 1967 to one Harry Lear in Florida, divorcing him in 1972. At the time of the rebirth of her celebrity, Page was living penniless in California, unaware of her renewed celebrity. She hoped that with the efforts of her co-author and agent, James Swanson, she would be seeing some financial reward for this renewed attention.

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A second biography, written by Richard Foster and published in 1997, The Real Bettie Page: The Truth about the Queen of Pinups, tells a less happy tale. It details not only numerous accounts of violence on her part against not only her third husband and her two step-children, but also against other people, but several stays in mental institutions, the last one from 1983 to 1992 at Patton State Hospital in Highland, California. It also furnished information that Page had still not received all of the monies due to her since her rediscovery.

Related Topics:
Patton State Hospital - Highland, California

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Foster's book immediately provoked attacks from her fans, including Hefner and Harlan Ellison, as well as a statement from Page that it is "full of lies." However, Steve Brewster, founder of the Bettie Scouts of America fan club has stated that it is not as unsympathetic as the book's reputation makes it to be. Brewster adds that he also read the chapter about her business dealings with Swanson, and stated that Page was pleased with that part of her story.

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In a recent interview, Page has stated she will not allow any current pictures of her to be shown, because she is 25 to 30 pounds overweight. A friend believes the reason for her reluctance is more likely insecurity. "If your grandmother looked like Bettie does today, you'd be thrilled. Her eyes still sparkle. She really looks like her old self."

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