LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Betty Grable: Mother
built 640 days ago
Betty Grable was born Elizabeth Ruth Grable in Saint Louis, Missouri on 18 December 1916. Her mother had high hopes that one of her three children would become an actress, and when it became apparent that none of her sisters would fit the bill, Grable's mother pressured her daughter to audition for various roles. The girl was accepted for several parts when she was underage, but did not really begin to be famous until after she married fellow star Jackie Coogan, separating herself from her mother and negotiating some of her own parts.
Source:
Betty Grable was born on this day in 1916. Though the blonde actress was well known for her legs (insured by 20th Century Fox in 1943 for $1.25 million), her greatest accomplishment might be the honor of being the only female star to ever have a top 10 movie at the U.S. box office 10 years in a row. Her mother nudged her into Hollywood, and at the age of 13 Grable nabbed her first bit part, in the chorus line of Happy Days. Technically below the legal age for actresses at the time, she hid behind blackface make-up that was necessary for the production.
Source:
Betty Grable was born on December 18, 1916. Her father, John C. Grable, was the son of German and Dutch immigrants. Her mother, Lillian Hoffman, was of Dutch, Irish and English descent.
Source:
Elizabeth Ruth Grable was born Dec. 18, 1916, in St. Louis. Her father became a successful grain broker and her mother Lillian pushed Betty into dancing and vaudeville at an early age. In 1929 she and Betty moved to Hollywood when the Golden Age of sound movies, the Star-Studded Revue and the Technicolor musical was beginning. Although only 5'4" tall and 13 years old, Betty was hired as a Fox chorus girl at $50 a week to dance in Happy Days and Let's Go Places. After working in films for Eddie Cantor and Busby Berkeley, she signed a 5-year contact in 1934 with RKO. Betty worked for most of the major studios in the 1930s but did not become a star until 1939: she signed with Darryl F. Zanuck at Twentieth Century Fox in July; divorced Jackie Coogan in October; starred in a Broadway play that opened Dec. 6; appeared on the cover of Life magazine Dec. 11.
Source:
Born Elizabeth Ruth Grable in 1916, Betty Grable was groomed for stardom by her mother from an early age. As a child she attended dancing lessons, as well as learning the saxophone and singing. During her lifetime, she would become one of the most prolific singing actresses of her time, starring in over one hundred films, including "Pin Up Girl," and "How To Marry A Millionaire."
Source:
Ruth Elizabeth Grable was born in St. Louis on 18th December, 1916 to John Conn (always known as Conn) and Lillian. Betty was the third child to Conn and Lillian. Her sister Marjorie was born in 1909 and her bother John Karl was born in 1914, but died before he was 2 years old. For reasons never fully explained, Lillian was determined to see a daughter in show-business. After trying and failing with her first daughter Marjorie, Lillian set her sights on Betty to fulfill her mother's ambitions. Fortunately, Betty was enthusiastic and had the talent, so her early years were devoted to dancing lessons, learning to play the saxophone and singing.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Mother