Bettie Page , the 1950s pinup and bondage model who provided more than a half-century of inspiration for everybody from Madonna to the Suicide Girls to artist Olivia De Berardinis ( as well as having her image used on all sorts of merchandise ) , died yesterday in Los Angeles at the age of 85 .
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bettie page 1950s pinup bondage model provide half-century inspiration everybody madonna suicide girl artist olivia de berardinis have her image sort merchandise die yesterday los angeles age 85
Bettie Page , the 1950s pinup and bondage model who provided more than a half-century of inspiration for everybody from Madonna to the Suicide Girls to artist Olivia De Berardinis ( as well as having her image used on all sorts of <m> merchandise </m> ) , died yesterday in Los Angeles at the age of 85 .
Bettie Page , the 1950s pinup and bondage model who provided more than a half-century of inspiration for everybody from Madonna to the Suicide Girls to artist Olivia De Berardinis ( as well as having her image used on all sorts of <m> merchandise </m> ) , died yesterday in Los Angeles at the age of 85 .
Born in Nashville , Page left her job as a schoolteacher and secretary to begin a career in modeling in 1950 .
Throughout the 50s , she appeared clad in leopard print bikinis , black leather , and wielding whips in publications like Wink and Titter .
In 1955 , she appeared in a Christmas spread for Playboy .
She had appeared in thousands of photos when she abruptly walked away from her career at the age of 35 .
In 1995 , Page was summoned to testify before the U.S. Senate at anti-pornography hearings .
She moved to Florida shortly thereafter , became a born-again Christian , suffered a nervous breakdown , and was diagnosed as a schizophrenic .
But her legend grew over the years , as her image kept reappearing in popular culture .
She was the inspiration for a character in Dale Stevens ' 1982 comic series The Rocketeer , and the 1991 movie based on the series had actress Jennifer Connolly in the Page-inspired role .
Artist Olivia De Berardinis also immortalized Page in several paintings , which have become popular tattoos among modern day rockabilly and goth girls .
Page learned of her career resurgence after being released from a mental hospital in 1992 .
Bettie Page T-shirts , posters , watches , wallets , and more were hot-sellers , and although Page refused to have her picture taken the last two decades of her life , she embraced her legacy and occasionally did meet-and-greet signings at events throughout the U.S. and gave her blessing to an official Web site , www.bettiepage.com .
Page had been hospitalized for the past three weeks for pneumonia .
She was scheduled to be released December 2 , but suffered a heart attack .
Her health never recovered , and she passed at away at 6 : 41 last night .
A number of sites have already posted tributes to Page .
You can check out the tributes in the L.A. Times , at MTV.com , and also at Page 's official site .