The Life and Times of Lauren Bacall

Career

In her early days, Bacall became an usher at a theater and was hired as a model for fashion. She made a debut for acting at the age of seventeen and had seen her idol Bette Davis at a hotel later according to her autobiography in the musical Applause, Bacall was visited by Davis to congratulate her. Having become a fashion model part time, Nancy, the wife of Howard Hawke spotted her in a small Vogue picture and urged Hawks to have screening tests done with Bacall. Having asked the secretary to inquire about Bacall, the secretary didn’t understand correctly and instead sent her a Hollywood audition ticket. Later a 7-year personal contract was signed and gave her one hundred dollars a week as her manager. Her voice was trained to be sexier, more masculine and lower which turned out to be one of Hollywood’s most distinctive voices.

World Headlines

On the tenth of February in the year nineteen forty-five, the press agent of Bacall who was Warner Bros. publicity chief asked Bacall who was twenty-years old to be on the pianot-top which the USA’s Vice President Harry Truman was playing. World headlines resulted from this as the controversial photos were released.

Humphrey Bogart

Mayo Methot’s husband Humphrey Bogart began a relationship with Bacall after shooting on the set of To Have and Have Not and they began dating.

Birthplace

In New York City, Lauren Bacall was born as Betty Joan Perske and was born to Jewish parents William Perske and Natalie Weinstein Bacal as their only child who changer her surname legally to Bacall. When she was five her parents went through a divorce and later she took her mom’s Romanian last name. Having formed a close bond with her mom, Bacall never saw her father again.

Lauren Bacall’s Trademark “Look”

Lauren Bacall has a distinctive trademark look that she is known for. This happened during the screen test To Have and Have Not Bacall was feeling nervousness and to lessen her trembling she tilted her eyes upwards to face the camera as her chin pressed against her chest.

Beginnings

Born Betty Joan Perske, Lauren Bacall is an American model, stage and film actress known for her sultry looks and distinct husky looks. Having emerged first as Humphrey Bogart’s leading lady in the To Have and Have Not film; she went on with the genre film noir with Bogart movie appearances including Key Largo, Dark Passage and The Big Sleep. She also starred along with Marilyn Monroe in How to Marry a Millionaire and with Gregory Peck in Designing Woman. In addition, Bacall worked in musicals on Broadway in Applause which gained her a Tony Award. Her movie performance in The Mirror Has Two Faces earned her an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Family and Relationships

On the twenty-first of May, Humphrey Bogart married Bacall. Their honeymoon and wedding took place at Ohio’s Malabar Farm in Lucas. This was Louis Bromfield’s country home, who was an author who won a Pulitzer Price. The Big House was were the wedding took place between forty-five year old Bogart and twenty-year old Bacall.