Bettie Page , one of entertainment 's original sex kittens , the 1950s pin-up queen who many credit with having paved the way for the sexual revolution of the following decade , passed away Thursday , December 11 , at age 85 .
sexual revolution
bettie page entertainment original sex kitten 1950 pin-up queen credit having pave way sexual revolution following decade pass away thursday december 11 age 85
Bettie Page , one of entertainment 's original sex kittens , the 1950s pin-up queen who many credit with having paved the way for the <m> sexual revolution </m> of the following decade , passed away Thursday , December 11 , at age 85 .
Bettie Page , one of entertainment 's original sex kittens , the 1950s pin-up queen who many credit with having paved the way for the <m> sexual revolution </m> of the following decade , passed away Thursday , December 11 , at age 85 .
Bettie Page died Thursday of pneumonia at a Los Angeles area hospital , longtime agent Mark Roesler said .
She had suffered a heart attack earlier in December and never regained consciousness .
He said he and Page 's family agreed to take her off life support .
Roesler described her as `` the embodiment of beauty , '' and enthused that she `` captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality . ''
Bettie Page 's signature raven-black long hair , her bangs , the red lipstick , her full , seductively rounded body and her provocative poses made her into a bona fide pin-up queen in the nineteen fifties .
Her fame endured throughout the decades , even after she retreated from the spotlight and struggled with mental illness , moved around the country and became a born-again Christian .
She was born Betty Mae Page on April 22 , 1923 in Nashville , Tennessee , in an impoverished family with six children .
Despite being confronted with an abusive father who eventually went to prison and having to live in orphanages at times , Page grew up a great fan of Hollywood movies and was successful in school , as salutatorian of her high school graduating class .
Her classmates voted her `` Most Likely to Succeed . ''
She received an arts degree with Peabody College in Nashville and started modeling in the 1940s after moving to San Francisco with her first husband .
They divorced in 1947 and Page continued her modeling work in New York .
As chance would have it , photos from a shoot with Miami photographer Bunny Yeager ended up in the pages of Playboy .
This would forever change Page 's life , as she became on of the two-year-old magazine 's first centerfolds in the January 1955 issue .
Kneeling before a Christmas tree , wearing a Santa hat and a playful wink ( and that 's all ) and holding a Christmas tree ornament , Playboy founder Hugh Hefner described the layout as `` a milestone in the history of the magazine . ''
A few years later , Page modeled in bondage and sadomasochistic poses .
This caused great controversy , as the photographs were criticized by some as perversion and a congressional investigation was launched into pornography .
By the late 1950s , Bettie Page had virtually disappeared from the public eye , having retreated to focus on her own personal life .
She became a born-again Christian and worked for Billy Graham 's ministry , among others .
She married two more times yet both unions failed .
Beginning with the 1970s , she battled mental illness and was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic .
During her retreat from the spotlight , Page was completely oblivious of the fascination she had ignited in the public .
She made a comeback almost two decades later , signing memorabilia at conventions and occasionally granted interviews .
She refused to have her photograph taken .
Page had no children .
A private funeral service will be held Tuesday , Dec. 16 , at Westwood Memorial Cemetery .