Betty Grable

Betty Grable
Grable in 1951
Born	Elizabeth Ruth Grable (1916-12-18)December 18, 1916 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Died	July 2, 1973(1973-07-02) (aged 56) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California, U.S. 33°58′23″N 118°20′20″E / 33.97315°N 118.33892°E / 33.97315; 118.33892
Other names	Frances Dean
Occupation	Actress, pin-up girl, dancer, singer
Years active	1929–1973
Spouse(s)	Jackie Coogan (m. 1937; div. 1939) Harry James (m. 1943; div. 1965)
Children	2

Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, and singer. Her 42 movies during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million and she set a record of 12 consecutive years in the top 10 of box office stars. The U.S. Treasury Department in 1946 and 1947 listed her as the highest-salaried American woman; she earned more than $3 million during her career.

Grable began her film career in 1929 at age 12, after which she was fired from a contract when it was learned she signed up under false identification. She had contracts with RKO and Paramount Pictures during the 1930s, and appeared in a string of B movies, mostly portraying co-eds. Grable came to prominence in the Broadway musical DuBarry Was a Lady (1939), which brought her to the attention of 20th Century-Fox. She replaced Alice Faye in Down Argentine Way (1940), her first major Hollywood film, and became Fox's biggest film star throughout the remaining decade. Fox cast Grable in a succession of Technicolor musicals during the decade that were immensely popular, co-starring with such leading men as Victor Mature, Don Ameche, John Payne, and Tyrone Power. In 1943, she was the number-one box-office draw in the world and, in 1947, she was the highest-paid entertainer in the United States. Two of her biggest film successes were the musical Mother Wore Tights (1947) and the comedy How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), one of her last films. Grable retired from screen acting in 1955 after she withdrew from her Fox contract, although she continued to perform on the stage and on television.