Betty Grable
December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973
☆ American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million, and for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she placed among the Quigley Poll's top 10 box office stars (a feat only matched by Doris Day, Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand, although all were surpassed by Mary Pickford, with 13 years).
☆ She had contracts with RKO, Paramount Pictures, and 20th Century Fox and co-starred with leading men such as Victor Mature, Don Ameche, John Payne and Tyrone Power.
☆ Throughout her career, Grable was a celebrated sex symbol. Her bathing-suit poster made her the top pin-up girl of World War II, surpassing Rita Hayworth. The photo was later included in the Life magazine project "100 Photographs That Changed the World". Hosiery specialists of the era often noted the ideal proportions of Grable's legs and thighs (18.5 in (47 cm)), calf (12 in (30 cm)) and ankle (7.5 in (19 cm)). Her legs were insured by her studio for $1 million as a publicity stunt. Describing her film career, Grable said: "I became a star for two reasons, and I'm standing on them."
☆ The U.S. Treasury Department listed her as the highest-salaried American woman in 1946 and 1947, and she earned more than $3 million during her career.
