Betty Grable

Betty Grable was a number one pin-up model during the Second World War. Her bathing-suit photos was something that enamored everyone who saw them during those times, so much so that it was included in the list of 100 Photos that Changed the World.

She entered into the modeling world, from her mother’s insistence that at least one of her children must go onto becoming a star. Though she is an American, her ancestry is a mix of to Dutch, Irish, German and English origins. In 1930 she got a role in Whoopee!, in which she did the Cowboys opening number. During the whole of the 1930’s she worked with different studios, taking on small roles. In 1937, she did something quite different, which was rebel against her controlling mother. Soon afterwards, she married, Jackie Coogan, a famous child-actor, but this marriage landed up in a divorce.

However, upsets on the personal front did not get her down. She went on to take on roles that made her famous during the 1940’s. Notable roles done by her include ‘Down Argentine Way’1940), ‘Moon Over Miami’ (1941), ‘Springtime in The Rockies’, ‘Coney Island’), ‘Sweet Rosie O’Grady’ (1943), ‘Pin Up Girl’ (1944), ‘Diamond Horseshoe’ (1945), ‘The Dolly Sisters’ (1945), Mother Wore Tights (1947), which was her most popular film during this period.

In 1943, she married Harry James, but this was a rocky relationship. However, it endured for a period of 22 years and finally in 1965, she divorced him. Her partner from then onwards was Bob Remick, she was with her till the end of her life.

The latter part of Betty’s Grable’s career was marked with problems with studio heads who never gave her a break and worked her too hard for their benefit. She died at the age of 56, from lung cancer.