Bettie Page

An iconic figure in the early years of the sexual revolution; Bettie Page was a pin-up model whose pageboy bangs and sunny disposition won the hearts of countless men in the pages of Playboy and other adult magazines and films. What made Page so popular was the dichotomy between her wholesome, girl-next-door exterior and her willingness to pose not just nude - still a scandal in the post-World War II era - but in mild sadomasochistic scenarios. Few were able to peer deeply into the paradox of Bettie Page - government hearings on pornography drove her underground, where she found religion and went through several marriages. While she languished in obscurity, a new generation of fans discovered her image in the 1970s, resulting in a global cult following that echoed her look and attitude in countless magazines, comics, movies and fashion. For years, Page resisted appearing in public, much to the disappointment of her loyal followers, but by the late 1990s, she was granting interviews and even recouping a fraction of the millions of dollars reaped by her photos and films. Page's rise and fall, and the impact her life and likeness had on the social fabric of the late 20th century, made her one of the purest examples of pop culture legend.