Lauren Bacall

I was born Betty Joan Perske on September 16, 1924 in New York City. My parents were middle-class with my father working as a salesman and my mother as a secretary. They divorced when I was five. When I was still at school, I originally wanted to be a dancer, but later became enthralled with acting so I switched gears to head into that field. I had studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, after high school, which enabled me to get her feet wet in some off-Broadway productions.
Once out of school, I entered modelling and appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, one of the most popular magazines in the US. The wife of famed director, Howard Hawks spotted the picture in the publication and arranged with her husband to have me take a screen test. As a result, which was entirely positive, I was given a part as Marie Browning in “To Have and Have Not” (1944), a thriller opposite the Humphrey Bogart, when I was just 19 years old. This not only set the tone for a fabulous career, but also one of Hollywood's greatest love stories (we married in 1945.) It was, also, the first of several Bogie-Bacall films.
After “Confidential Agent” (1945), I received second billing in “The Big Sleep” (1946) with Bogart. The mystery, in the role of Vivian Sternwood Rutledge, was a resounding success. Although I was making one film a year, the public would eagerly await each production. In 1947, again with my husband, I starred in the thriller “Dark Passage” (1947). The film kept movie patrons on the edge of their seats. The following year I starred with Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, and Lionel Barrymore in “Key Largo” .The crime drama was even more of a nail biter than the previous film. In 1950, I played in “Bright Leaf” (1950), a drama set in 1894. It was a film of note because I appeared without my husband - my co-star was Gary Cooper. In 1953, I appeared in my first comedy as Schatze Page in "How to Marry a Millionaire" (1953). The film, with co-stars Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable, was a smash hit all across the theatres of America.
After filming "Designing Women" which was released in 1957, Humphrey Bogart died on January 14, 1957 from throat cancer. Devastated at being a widow, I returned to the silver screen with “The Gift of Love” in 1958 opposite Robert Stack. The production turned out to be a big disappointment. Not undaunted, I moved back to New York City and appeared in several Broadway plays to huge critical acclaim. I was enjoying playing before live audiences and the audiences in turn loved me. I was away from the big screen for five years returning in 1964 to appear in “Shock Treatment” and “Sex and the Single Girl “.The latter film was a comedy starring Henry Fonda and Tony Curtis. In 1966, I starred in “Harper” with Paul Newman and Julie Harris. It was one of Newman's signature films. Alternating my time between films and the stage, I returned in 1974's “Murder on the Orient Express)”. The film, based on Agatha Christie's best selling book was a huge hit. It also gained Ingrid Bergman her third Oscar. Actually, the huge star studded cast helped to ensure its success. Two years later, in 1976, I co-starred with John Wayne in " The Shootist". The film was Wayne's last - he died from cancer in 1979.
In 1981, I played an actress being stalked by a crazed admirer in “The Fan”. The thriller was absolutely fascinating with me in the lead role. After that production, I was away from films again, this time for seven years. In the interim, I again appeared on the stages of Broadway. When I returned, it was for the filming of 1988's “Mr. North “ After “Misery” in 1990, and several films made for television, I appeared in 1996's “My Fellow Americans”. It was a wonderful comedy romp with Jack Lemmon and James Garner as two ex-presidents and their escapades.