
Because of her vivacious career as an iconic pin-up model and performance artist, many from the current generation are shocked to find out that the fun and flirty Bettie Page spent decades wallowing in obscurity and reclusiveness. A victim of depression and schizophrenia, she retreated into herself following her meteoric ascent as a famous model, actress, and burlesque dancer that ended abruptly in 1957. Some attribute it to her conversion to Christianity, others to the obscenity trials that branded the erotic photography and videos as offensive material (though most of it would of course be considered PG-13 by today’s standards), still others to her failing mental health.