I love to swim in the nude
and roam around the house in the nude.
You’re just as free as a bird!
“Bettie Page is the Queen of Pin-ups.
the model of the century, yet she remains
one of its best kept secrets.”
— Playboy Magazine
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Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 - December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in
the 1950s for her pin-up photos. She was often referred to as the "Queen of Pinups":
her long jet-black hair, blue eyes, and trademark bangs have influenced artists for generations.
After her death, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner called her "a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in
pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, someone who had a tremendous impact
on our society"
Page lived in California in her early adult years before moving to New York City to pursue work as
an actress. There, she found work as a pin-up model, and she posed for several photographers throughout
the 1950s. Page was "Miss January 1955", one of the earliest Playmates of the Month for Playboy magazine.
In 1950, while walking along the Coney Island shore, Bettie met NYPD Officer Jerry Tibbs, who was an avid
photographer, and he gave Bettie his card. He suggested she would be a good pin-up model. In exchange for
allowing him to photograph her, he would help make up her first pin-up portfolio, free of charge.
Tibbs suggested to Bettie that she style her hair with bangs in front, to keep light from reflecting off her
high forehead when being photographed. Bangs soon became an integral part of her distinctive look.
Page entered the field of "glamour photography" as a popular camera club model, working initially with
photographer Cass Carr. Her lack of inhibition in posing made her a hit, and her name and image became
quickly known in the erotic photography industry. In 1951, Bettie's image appeared in men's magazines such as
Wink, Titter, Eyeful and Beauty Parade.
From late 1951 or early 1952 through 1957, she posed for photographer Irving Klaw for mail-order
photographs with pin-up and BDSM themes, making her the first famous bondage model. Klaw also used Page in
several short, black-and-white 8mm and 16mm "specialty" films, which catered to specific requests from his
clientele. These silent one-reel featurettes showed women clad in lingerie and high heels, acting out
fetishistic scenarios of abduction, domination, and slave-training; bondage, spanking, and elaborate leather
costumes and restraints were included periodically. Page alternated between playing a stern dominatrix, and a
helpless victim bound hand and foot.
Klaw also produced a line of still photos taken during these sessions. Some have become iconic images, such as
his highest-selling photo of Page—shown gagged and bound in a web of ropes...