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Sep 17, 2022 · It's one of the most famous pin-up photos of all time –– Betty Grable, in a tight, one-piece bathing suit, posing with her back to the camera and looking over her shoulder. The black-and-white image, taken in 1943, became the most requested photo for G.I.s stationed overseas during World War II.
Grable's pose in her iconic pin-up photo is now a classic, and she looks over one shoulder, back to camera, in a revealing white bathing suit. But there was good reason for this particular set-up. When Grable showed up to the shoot, she was actually seven months pregnant.
Her bathing-suit poster made her the top pin-up girl of World War II, surpassing Rita Hayworth. The photo was later included in the Life magazine project "100 Photographs That Changed the World".
Her famous pin-up pose during World War II adorned barracks all around the world. With that pin-up and as the star of lavish musicals, Betty became the highest-paid star in Hollywood. After the war, her star continued to rise.
Eighty years ago, a quirk of fate saw a 1943 pin-up photo of film star Betty Grable smiling coyly over her right shoulder become a Second World War icon. The picture went off to war in the survival kits of around one in 12 Allied servicemen.
May 23, 2023 · FOX studios saw its potential and persuaded the US military to allow it to distribute 5 million postcards of this picture to American GIs fighting in the war. Soldiers soon had painted the picture on planes, bomber jackets, and barrack walls making it the most popular pin-up during the war.
Mar 13, 2020 · Frank Powolny takes the famous pin-up photo of Betty. The photo becomes so popular, an estimated 3 million copies are sent to servicemen! (A 1993 estimate put world-wide distribution of the pin-up photo at 0ver 10 million.) It’s the most requested pin-up photo EVER.
Aug 22, 2024 · The famous pinup photo of the leggy, blonde, bathing-suit-clad Grable, back to the camera, glancing over one shoulder, did not contradict her persona as the girl next door and became an icon of the era.
Grable's photograph sold millions of copies, eventually surpassing the popularity of Rita Hayworth's famous 1941 photo. Grable's success as a pin-up girl furthered her career as a mainstream movie star.
Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the... American dancer, singer, and actress.
