Mae West

Mary Jane West was born on August 17, 1893 in Queens, New York. She was known as Queen of the World and the Statue of Libido. Mae began her career at the age of five in vaudeville and wrote her own scripts. Her first movie role was in Night After Night in 1932. Her next film She Done Him Wrong in 1933 was based on her play Diamond Lil and was nominated for an Academy Award. Her third film in 1933 was I'm No Angel and the controversy in these two films changed the Motion Picture Production Code.
In 1934 she wrote and played in Belle of the Nineties and in 1936 West wrote and starred in several more films comprising My Little Chickadee in 1940. Her final movie before she died Sextette was filmed in 1978. Her films Belle of the Nineties in 1934, Klondike Annie in 1936 and Go West Young Man in 1936 made Mae the highest paid woman in the U.S. In 1937 she made Every Day's a Holiday but did not make another film until 1940. She left film due to censorship and went back to the stage.
At the age of 87 Mae suffered a series of strokes that culminated in her death on November 22, 1980. She only appeared in 12 films during her career but she was way ahead of her time. Her platinum blonde hair and voluptuous figure plus her deep sultry voice will long be remembered. She was married to Frank Wallace from 1911 until they divorced in 1942.