Bettie (also known as Betty) Page’s sexy, but fun photos became all the rage in the 1950s. Page is credited with helping usher in the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Last night, Page died at a hospital in Los Angeles. Page had been battling pneumonia when she suffered a heart attack on December 2.
Page’s most famous pictures showed her in high heels, swimsuits, lingerie, bondage attire or sometimes nothing at all. In 1955, she posed for a Christmas theme centerfold for Playboy magazine. Decades later, Page is still a popular photo model who has inspired fashion, style, and art.
Page’s story has been told in a documentary and at least two films. In 2005, Gretchen Mol starred in a movie about the pin-up queen called, “The Notorious Bettie Page.” Born in Nashville in 1923, Page was divorced three times and her later years were marked by a religious conversion, depression, and time spent in a mental hospital.
Page never wanted to be photographed in her old age. She preferred to be remembered as that hot 1950s pin-up girl who became a pop culture icon.
