—1. Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads

Birth Name: Bettie Mae Page
Birthdate: April 22, 1923
Birthplace: Nashville, TN
Occupation: Model
Claim to Fame: Fetish pinup star of the 1950s; often pictured in black leather, fishnet hose and animal skins
Marriages: Married Billy Neal, February 15, 1943 and divorced November 1947. Married Armond Walterson on November 26, 1958 and divorced 1963. Married Harry Lear on February 14, 1967 and divorced January 1972
Factoids: She disappeared from the public eye in 1957 after becoming a born again Christian. Her image became a pop cult icon and she never knew it. She is still alive and living in an old Victorian home somewhere in Southern California. She doesn't like being old and has arthritis.

BETTIE SPEAKS: " I was not trying to be shocking, or to be a pioneer. I wasn’t trying to change society, or to be ahead of my time. I didn’t think of myself as liberated, and I don’t believe that I did anything important. I was just myself. I didn’t know any other way to be, or any other way to live."

From Pinup to Sex Queen:
Bettie Page
The Hollywood True Story
E! Network
Premiere: October 11, 1998
Rebroadcast: June 5, 9, 2001 and more.

Network Synopsis: She was the most successful pinup of her time, shocking society with her erotic attitude. She was also the subject of a government investigation. And at the height of her fame, Bettie Page vanished. Interviews with celebrity fans Hugh Hefner, Todd Oldham and Debi Mazar and clips of her famous burlesque films illustrate the controversy around Page and why she left the limelight. What's more, Page herself speaks, in her first onscreen interview in decades: "It just surprises me...They keep saying I'm some kind of icon and that I started the new generation's sex movement. All I did was pose in the nude." An inside look at the life of an American orginal.
--(c) E!

RealVideo Clip
Bettie's conversion to Jesus Christ

Video clip is
(c) E! Network. All Rights Reserved

Bettie's desire to dance led her to a Baptist church where she gave her heart to the Lord.

The E! Network Clip: "Despite dropping from the public eye, Page claims to have no regrets about her days as a sexy model" boasts E!. This Internet clip, however, was edited by the E! network, and leaves out the fact that she regrets the nude modeling and how she asked God to forgive her. In the clip you will hear her as she sounds today.

No regrets (E! clip)
RealPlayer
Windows Media
Video clips are
(c) E! Network. All Rights Reserved

THE MEANING OF
BETTIE PAGE
Visual Commentary By David Bruce

This is an amazing and bizarre story. If it were not true it would be totally unbelievable. This is the story of a woman who has been serving the Lord since 1957. That's over 5 decades of dedication, telling others about Jesus Christ. Suddenly one day she discovers that she has impacted the world in a phenomenal way, but not as she thought she would have as a Christian -rather in a very different way. You see, prior to becoming a Christian in 1957 she had been a model for a mere seven years. Her work from those years has made her the number one model of all time. Her image now dominates the pop culture world and has changed it forever.

This 1949 photo of Bettie Page was taken in New York before her modeling career began. Little did she know then how she would impact the world.

In the 50s she entered the world of modeling. Her specialty was risqué pinup that was very cutting edge. God had gifted her with blemish-free skin, perfect facial features and a perfect 10 body. Her particular and unique style, jet-black hair and bangs became her unmistakable trademark.

A fellow student at her acting school, Anomie Aryl, states, "Bettie was a classy woman. She brought a wholesomeness to her work. That’s probably what made her the icon she is."

God, however, had other plans for Bettie. In 1957, wanting to go dancing, she passed by a Baptist church. She went in. And before she left she had become a born again Christian. (RealVideo Clip:Bettie's conversion). So profound and life changing was her conversion that she totally left modeling and dropped completely out of the public eye.

Accordingly, she enrolled in a Los Angeles Bible College, Biola, and begin helping various Christian causes. She was a volunteer worker for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. She passed out Gospel literature in airports. She was totally involved in the life of the church.

She had completely dropped out of Pop Culture secular world and had fully entered the Christian Evangelical world. No one ever spoke to her about her former modeling career because no one in her new spiritual world knew anything about the former world of Bettie Page. Those were two very separate worlds. No connection whatever.

Little did Bettie know, but she was achieving legendary status in the secular world she had left. Rumors abounded about her disappearance. Some reports said she had died. Such rumors only enhanced her in the popular imagination. Her image has become an icon and guiding light for current generations. There are so many examples of how she as impacted pop culture.

Bad Girls of the Bible
and What We Can Learn from Them
by Liz Curtis Higgs

The Bettie Page types of the Bible. Fabulous book. Learn some lessons in good living from the Bible's bad news belles. Women everywhere marvel at the "good girls" in Scripture such as Sarah, Mary, and Ruth. But on most days, when they look in the mirror they see the selfishness of Sapphira or the deception of Delilah. They catch a glimpse of Jezebel's take-charge pride or Salome's misguided attempt to please her mother. What's a good girl to do?

Bettie Page:
The Life of a Pin-Up Legend
by Karen Essex, Bettie Page, James L. Swanson

This is the book that the E! television bio is based on. It is the definitive work on the life of Bettie Page. It covers her controversial modeling career and her conversion to Jesus Christ. It is the only biography in which Bettie Page herself is one of the authors. It is the BEST BOOK on her life and her impact on the world. If you are a pastor you may want it sent to the parsonage rather than the church (joke).
2002 note: Since this page went up in 2001 the $30 book has sold out, and the used copies are going for over $100. Amazing investment. The 300% increase in price demonstrates the popularity of her image. The used book price continues to rise. Click the link and buy it if you can.

I will not post these comments. I welcome your spiritual concerns and prayer needs.  I will correspond with you, usually within two weeks.
Email David Bruce