35 Vintage Photos Of Bettie Page The Iconic Playmate And Pinup Queen

Through her titillating photoshoots, Bettie Page showed a pious and restrictive mid-century society how fun and freeing a woman’s sexuality could be.

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1 of 36Pinup model Bettie Page poses for a portrait. 1952. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 2 of 36Page was Playboy “Playmate” of the month for January 1955. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 3 of 36Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

4 of 36Page shows off her curves in a striped dress.Flickr/pierre_tourigny 5 of 36Pumping gas in high heels beside a cornfield out in the country, New York state. 1956.Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 6 of 36Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

7 of 36A boudoir photo in red and black. Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity 8 of 36A poised Bettie Page on a carnival swing. Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

9 of 36Flickr/antoniomarinsegovia

10 of 36Posing for a bikini shoot, circa 1950s. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 11 of 36Bettie Page with the photographer who transitioned her to BDSM shoots, Irving Klaw, circa 1955. Archive Photos/Getty Images 12 of 36Trying on a pair of sandals at a show for new shoes in New York. Bettmann/Getty Images

13 of 36Climbing onto a haystack, 1950s. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 14 of 36In New York state, 1956. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 15 of 36In red negligee and stockings, circa 1955. Archive Photos/Getty Images 16 of 36Photoshoot in black. 1952.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 17 of 36Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 18 of 36A tetraptych of headshot portraits. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 19 of 36Animated photo of Bettie from 1955.Archive Photos/Getty Images 20 of 36Flickr/antoniomarinsegovia 21 of 36Bettie Page, in a “purrfect” costume for the occasion, feeds kittens in a toy play house at the “Hep Cat of the Year” contest at Roseland in New York. Bettmann/Getty Images

22 of 36Bettie Page dons a unique bikini for Confidential Advertising. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images 23 of 36Posing shyly with a feather fan, mid 1950s. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 24 of 36Page in the arms of a young man, 1950s. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 25 of 36Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 26 of 36Outdoor shoot, circa 1952. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 27 of 36Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 28 of 36A movie poster for the 1955 film, Teaserama, an American burlesque starring Tempest Storm, Bettie Page, and Trudy Wayne.Swim Ink 2, LLC/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images 29 of 36Irving Klaw confers with his camera crew during the filming of a dance sequence for Teaserama, 1954. Archive Photos/Getty Images 30 of 36Circa 1955. Archive Photos/Getty Images 31 of 36Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

32 of 36Sunbathing in a country lane, New York state, 1956. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 33 of 36Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

34 of 36Page in front of a group of eager photographers, 1950s. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 35 of 36Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images 36 of 36Like this gallery?Share it:

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35 Pictures Of Bettie Page, The Iconic Pinup-Turned-BDSM Model Who Helped Usher In America’s Sexual Revolution View Gallery

When it comes to pinup models, Bettie Page is one — if not the pioneer of the industry. As these Bettie Page photos show, the historic model was renowned as much for her scintillating black hair and rebellious spirit as she was for her ability to tell a story wordlessly.

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

7 Iconic Pinup Girls Who Made Jaws Drop All Over America — And Beyond

The True Story Of Alfred Kinsey, The Controversial Sexologist And Father Of The Sexual Revolution

7 of 36A boudoir photo in red and black. Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity 8 of 36A poised Bettie Page on a carnival swing. Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

9 of 36Flickr/antoniomarinsegovia

32 of 36Sunbathing in a country lane, New York state, 1956. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 33 of 36Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

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And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

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

7 Iconic Pinup Girls Who Made Jaws Drop All Over America — And Beyond

The True Story Of Alfred Kinsey, The Controversial Sexologist And Father Of The Sexual Revolution

7 of 36A boudoir photo in red and black. Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity 8 of 36A poised Bettie Page on a carnival swing. Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

9 of 36Flickr/antoniomarinsegovia

32 of 36Sunbathing in a country lane, New York state, 1956. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 33 of 36Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

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

7 Iconic Pinup Girls Who Made Jaws Drop All Over America — And Beyond

The True Story Of Alfred Kinsey, The Controversial Sexologist And Father Of The Sexual Revolution

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7 of 36A boudoir photo in red and black. Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity 8 of 36A poised Bettie Page on a carnival swing. Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

9 of 36Flickr/antoniomarinsegovia

32 of 36Sunbathing in a country lane, New York state, 1956. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images 33 of 36Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

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1 of 36Pinup model Bettie Page poses for a portrait. 1952. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

2 of 36Page was Playboy “Playmate” of the month for January 1955. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

3 of 36Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

4 of 36Page shows off her curves in a striped dress.Flickr/pierre_tourigny

5 of 36Pumping gas in high heels beside a cornfield out in the country, New York state. 1956.Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

6 of 36Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

7 of 36A boudoir photo in red and black. Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

8 of 36A poised Bettie Page on a carnival swing. Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

9 of 36Flickr/antoniomarinsegovia

10 of 36Posing for a bikini shoot, circa 1950s. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

11 of 36Bettie Page with the photographer who transitioned her to BDSM shoots, Irving Klaw, circa 1955. Archive Photos/Getty Images

12 of 36Trying on a pair of sandals at a show for new shoes in New York. Bettmann/Getty Images

13 of 36Climbing onto a haystack, 1950s. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

14 of 36In New York state, 1956. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

15 of 36In red negligee and stockings, circa 1955. Archive Photos/Getty Images

16 of 36Photoshoot in black. 1952.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

17 of 36Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

18 of 36A tetraptych of headshot portraits. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

19 of 36Animated photo of Bettie from 1955.Archive Photos/Getty Images

20 of 36Flickr/antoniomarinsegovia

21 of 36Bettie Page, in a “purrfect” costume for the occasion, feeds kittens in a toy play house at the “Hep Cat of the Year” contest at Roseland in New York. Bettmann/Getty Images

22 of 36Bettie Page dons a unique bikini for Confidential Advertising. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

23 of 36Posing shyly with a feather fan, mid 1950s. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

24 of 36Page in the arms of a young man, 1950s. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

25 of 36Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

26 of 36Outdoor shoot, circa 1952. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

27 of 36Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

28 of 36A movie poster for the 1955 film, Teaserama, an American burlesque starring Tempest Storm, Bettie Page, and Trudy Wayne.Swim Ink 2, LLC/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

29 of 36Irving Klaw confers with his camera crew during the filming of a dance sequence for Teaserama, 1954. Archive Photos/Getty Images

30 of 36Circa 1955. Archive Photos/Getty Images

31 of 36Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

32 of 36Sunbathing in a country lane, New York state, 1956. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

33 of 36Flickr/1000PhotosOfNewYorkCity

34 of 36Page in front of a group of eager photographers, 1950s. Weegee(Arthur Fellig)/International Center of Photography/Getty Images

35 of 36Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

36 of 36Like this gallery?Share it:

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35 Pictures Of Bettie Page, The Iconic Pinup-Turned-BDSM Model Who Helped Usher In America’s Sexual Revolution View Gallery

35 Pictures Of Bettie Page, The Iconic Pinup-Turned-BDSM Model Who Helped Usher In America’s Sexual Revolution

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Indeed, many photographers noted how Page could communicate through a photograph with just her eyes or a pose. From simple bikini shots to fully nude and bondage role-play photoshoots, the way she brought pinups to life is the essence of her popularity.

Even now, 70 years later, Bettie Page still shines as a frontrunner among pinup models and an usher to the sexual revolution of the 1960s and ’70s.

How Bettie Page Become A Pinup Icon

Throughout the early 1930s and ’40s, Bettie Page tried to live a humble life. After a short stint of school teaching and a brief marriage that ended in 1947, Page moved to New York to pursue a career in acting and modeling.

While visiting Coney Island one day, Page fatefully met a photographer who asked her to model for his camera club. She accepted the invitation, and the rest — as they say — is history.

When the photographer suggested she try wearing bangs, Page agreed and went home and cut them herself. The trademark of her iconic look was born.

By 1951, Page had joined up with premiere fetish photographer Irving Klaw, who made her into the first famous bondage model. Klaw also featured her in 8 mm short films requested by his clientele. Page enjoyed the work, but she resented being pigeon-holed as a fetish model.

“They keep referring to me in the magazines and newspapers and everywhere else as the ‘Queen of Bondage,’” Page once said. “I never had any inkling along that line. I don’t really disapprove of it. I think you can do your own thing as long as you’re not hurting anybody else — that’s been my philosophy ever since I was a little girl.”

In 1954, during a vacation in Miami, Page met photographer Bunny Yeager, who invited Page for a photoshoot at the wildlife park Africa USA in Boca Raton. The photos that resulted from the “Jungle Bettie” shoot are among her most popular, as Page is featured alongside a pair of cheetahs in a leopard-skin outfit or in the nude.

Page designed her leopard-print jungle outfit for this shoot herself, as well as a lot of her other lingerie. Although she did often pose nude, she never appeared in anything with explicit sexual content.

An Icon’s Unexpected Retirement

Page didn’t begin her modeling career until she was 27, and people tended to assume that she was younger than she was. For several years, writers quoted her age as 22. By the time she was 34, Page was already starting to feel like the market was saturated with Bettie Page photos.

Between growing older and a scandalous court case involving the effects of pornography on youths, Page thought it best to step away from the spotlight. Her six-year career as one of the top pinup models ever was over. She all but disappeared from the public eye completely.

That isn’t to say her pictures fell out of favor. In fact, Page has had several resurgences in popularity as new generations discover the sensual perfection that was her body of work. She’s spawned more copycats than perhaps any pinup model of all time.

The instantly recognizable pinup had some troubles with mental illness and the law in her later years. However, she always wanted to be remembered in her prime; as in these enticing Bettie Page photos.

Next, revisit the World War II model craze and the pinup girls who started it all. Then, find out about what happened to these famous Hollywood recluses.

Through her titillating photoshoots, Bettie Page showed a pious and restrictive mid-century society how fun and freeing a woman’s sexuality could be.#

How Bettie Page Become A Pinup Icon#

An Icon’s Unexpected Retirement#

Through her titillating photoshoots, Bettie Page showed a pious and restrictive mid-century society how fun and freeing a woman’s sexuality could be.

How Bettie Page Become A Pinup Icon

An Icon’s Unexpected Retirement