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Betty Grable Biography

Birth Name:
Elizabeth Ruth Grable
Birth Place:
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Profession
Actor, dancer, singer

Fast Facts

  • Began performing in chorus lines at 13 (under the legal age); she was fired when her true age was discovered
  • Signed by Samuel Goldwyn in 1931; appeared in industrial films and shorts under the alias Frances Dean
  • Her trademark was her famous legs, which MGM insured with Lloyd's of London for $1 million
  • Her 1943 bathing-suit photo was a favorite of soldiers during World War II
  • Retired from films after making 1955's How to Be Very, Very Popular; continued her career on stage, most famously in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway

Relationships