The Secret Life Of Notorious Pinup Girl-Turned-Recluse Bettie Page




The Secret Life Of Notorious Pinup Girl-Turned-Recluse Bettie Page

A titillating, black-banged pinup queen, Bettie Page was one of the most photographed people of the 20th century. She helped spearhead the American sexual revolution in the 1950s as she transitioned from mostly innocent lingerie modeling to bondage and S&M fetish photoshoots. 

Then in 1957, she abruptly retired and went into seclusion for the rest of her life. She became so secretive for so long that many were surprised to hear of her passing in 2008 because they believed that she was already long dead.  After suddenly disappearing from the spotlight in 1957, Bettie Page’s later life was shrouded in mystery — but then she resurfaced years later in a series of violent scandals.

 Though Bettie Page was the most famous postwar pinup girl in American history, her later life proved to be far less glamorous. By the end of ’50s, the most photographed model of the 20th century had become a total shut-in  Page’s introduction to the limelight was unusual. She went from a Homecoming Queen to an aspiring Hollywood starlet, but her one and only screen-test was an utter bust as she boldly rejected the producer’s advances to meet her after hours. 

But her stardom was fated, and she ultimately made her mark in New York City where beatnik photographers like Irving Klaw made her famous with BDSM photoshoots.  Between 1949 and 1957, 20,000 mail-order photos of her in bondage costumes were taken, drawing the attention of an ambitious United States senator who launched an investigation on pornography’s impact on youth. 

The investigation uncovered a scandal that marred Page’s career and she shortly thereafter vanished from the New York City scene for good. But tragically, her troubles as a recluse had only just begun.

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