Betty Grable was one of the most recognizable faces in America during the 1940s. She was an actress, dancer, singer, and fashion model whose films grossed more than $100 million during the 1930s and 1940s. At the height of her fame, she was the top box office draw in Hollywood and the favorite pinup of the U.S. military. Her studio liked her legs so much that they insured them for $1 million, giving her the nickname that followed her for the rest of her life: “the girl with the million-dollar legs.”
Elizabeth Ruth Grable was born on December 18, 1916, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her mother, Lillian, was ambitious and recognized early that her daughter had talent. She enrolled Betty in dance and music classes at a young age, determined to push her toward a career in show business. That drive set the tone for Betty’s entire childhood — rehearsals, lessons, and performances came before everything else.
By the time Betty was 12 years old, her mother had moved the family to Hollywood. Betty made her film debut as a chorus girl in “Happy Days” in 1929. When she was chosen for the chorus in “Let’s Go Places,” a legal problem surfaced: chorus girls were required to be at least 15 years old. Betty was only 13. Her mother arranged for fake identification papers so she could perform. The deception was discovered, and Betty was disqualified from the production. Despite that early setback, she became one of the original Goldwyn Girls at 13 and appeared in several films shortly after.
Through the early 1930s, Betty took on uncredited minor roles in a string of films. The work was steady but unglamorous. She appeared in B-movies and built her craft in the background of productions that rarely gave her a chance to stand out. Still, she kept working.
The mid-1930s saw Betty cast repeatedly as a college student — a role she had become typecast in. Films like “Pigskin Parade” (1936), “This Way Please” (1937), and “College Swing” (1938) kept her busy but didn’t break her out of that narrow mold. She was young, photogenic, and talented, but Hollywood hadn’t yet found the right vehicle for her.
In 1937, Betty married actor Jackie Coogan. The two had worked together on screen, and their pairing seemed natural at the time. But the marriage didn’t last. By 1939, it was over. That same year, she appeared with Coogan in “Million Dollar Legs” — the film that gave her the nickname the world would come to know.
When “Million Dollar Legs” underperformed at the box office, Betty made a bold move. She left Hollywood and headed to Broadway to appear in the musical drama “DuBarry Was a Lady.” Audiences and critics embraced the show, and Betty’s performance in it proved she could carry a production far beyond the background roles that had defined her early career. Broadway gave her the credibility that Hollywood hadn’t.
Her breakthrough came in 1940 when Twentieth Century-Fox cast her in “Down Argentine Way.” The film was a blockbuster. Betty’s energy, charm, and athletic dance numbers connected with audiences in a way that her earlier work never had. 20th Century-Fox recognized what they had and quickly built a slate of colorful, high-energy musicals around her. “Moon over Miami” (1941), “Sweet Rosie O’Grady” (1943), “Pin Up Girl” (1944), and “The Dolly Sisters” (1946) all followed, and each one drew large audiences. The plots were often simple and predictable, but audiences didn’t come for the story — they came to watch Betty move.
In 1943, photographer Frank Powolny photographed Betty during a studio session. She posed in a tight white bathing suit, and in one shot she stood with her back to the camera, head turned, smiling over her right shoulder. She was several months pregnant with her first child at the time, which is why she chose that angle. The photo was released as a poster and became the single most requested photograph by American troops stationed overseas during World War II. It surpassed even Rita Hayworth’s famous 1941 photograph in popularity. Betty’s image appeared on bomber planes, barracks walls, and in the wallets of soldiers across every theater of the war. The photograph was later named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential Photographs of All Time and was included in Life magazine’s project “100 Photographs That Changed the World.”
Also in 1943, Betty married Harry James, a celebrated trumpet player and big band leader. Together they had two daughters. The marriage survived more than two decades but was worn down by alcoholism and infidelity on James’s part. They finally divorced in 1965. After the divorce, Betty was in a long-term relationship with Bob Remick, a dancer considerably younger than her, a relationship that continued until her death.
Her 1947 film “Mother Wore Tights,” co-starring Dan Dailey, was one of the highest-grossing films of that year. Betty played a vaudeville performer whose daughter felt embarrassed by her mother’s profession. The role was a departure from the simpler musical formats she was known for, and it worked. The film earned strong reviews and drew big crowds.
By the early 1950s, a new generation of stars was emerging. In 1953, Betty appeared in “How to Marry a Millionaire” alongside Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall. The screenplay, adapted from two plays by Zoe Akins, Dale Eunson, and Katherine Albert, was a romantic comedy about three women scheming to find wealthy husbands. Sharing the screen with Monroe — who was rapidly becoming the decade’s defining star — signaled how much the industry’s landscape had shifted.
Betty’s final film appearance came in 1955 with “How to Be Very, Very Popular,” a comedy about two showgirls who witness a murder and try to stay out of it. After that, she stepped away from Hollywood. Her last film closed out a screen career that had spanned more than 25 years.
Betty Grable died of lung cancer on July 2, 1973, in Santa Monica, California. She was 56 years old. Her funeral was held two days later, and dozens of Hollywood figures attended, including her ex-husband Harry James. The following year, singer Neil Sedaka dedicated a song to her on his 1974 album “Laughter in the Rain.” Below are more stunning photos of Betty Grable across the decades.
