Betty Grable Research Paper

Mary Lou Retton was born on January 24, 1968 in Fairmont, West Virginia. She was the daughter of Lois and Ronnie Retton and the youngest of five children. At the age of four, she began studying dance and acrobatics, then started gymnastics training a year later. After she started developing a great love of gymnastics as a girl, Mary Lou Retton moved to Houston, Texas, to train with the amazing Romanian coach, Bela Karolyi. Mary Lou grew

Born February 27, 1897 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Marian Anderson was only 6 years old when she joined the choir at Union Baptist Church. As a child, her church helped raise money for her to attend music school for a year, since her family could not afford it .When she joined the choir, she earned the nickname “Baby Contralto”. Her father’s death when she was 12, didn’t have an effect on her love for singing. The church raised $500 for her to get singing lessons from Guiseppe Boghetti, who was a well respected voice teacher and tenor. Marian would soon be a star.

Eventually, Mary would begin working outside the stage and take a risk in a more recently developed artform. Mary and her luxurious curls would begin working with D.W. Griffith’s Biograph Studio starting in 1909 as a biographer starring in films, rather than her upbringing of theatre. This job, along with future breakout roles in movies like Tess of the Storm Country and many others would propel Mary into the limelight in the eyes of many. She would become known by the public as “the biograph girl” or “the girl with the golden curls” along with many other nicknames and soon would become the most popular and highest paid actress in America and possibly the world. She also went on to be apart of forming the United Artists studio.

In 1952, voice actress, Peggy Lee, collaborated with Disney in the production of Lady and the Tramp. Her

Pam worked several jobs upon her arrival in Los Angeles, but it was a receptionist job with American International Pictures that led to her discovery by director Jack Hill, who cast her in his women in prison films The Big Doll House (1971) and The Big Bird Cage (1972). (Shortly before that, she was also given a role in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, a film released in 1970 that was written by Roger Ebert and directed by Russ Meyer, but her part was small and allowed for limited screen time. Her breakout role was in Coffy, Jack Hill's Blaxplotation film about a nurse and vigilante, played by Grier, who seeks revenge on the drug dealers who lured her sister into a life of debauchery. Her character was lauded as "baddest one-chick hit-squad that ever hit town!" and despite the film's sexual and violent elements, it was a box office hit. Grier was the first African American female to headline an action film and she is credited as the woman who paved the way for current female actions stars like Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron, and more specifically the new wave of black female action heroes like Taraji P. Henson, who plays a kick-ass hit woman who's dressed to kill in Proud Mary. Throughout the 1970s, she played the lead in several other Blaxploitation films produced by AIP like Foxy Brown (1974), Sheba Baby, and Friday Foster (which were both released in 1975.)

Betty White was not born famous; she had to work very hard to be where she is today. In the ninety-two years she has been alive, she has been nominated into to the Television Hall of Fame, been married three times, is a huge animal rights contributor, and is one of the funniest and best actresses that have ever lived. Many people think that she didn't have to work very hard to get where she is today because it was easier today, but her main goal is to show that it isn't true. She doesn't care about what people think, she just cares about her accomplishments, and her life. Betty White is only five foot four. She loves acting. She is of Danish Greek background. She is the daughter of a homemaker, and a lighting company exclusive (Imdb).

After her split with Desi Arnaz, "Lucille Ball at last realized her dream of Broadway success, opening in the musical comedy Wildcat on Dec. 16, 1960" (Moritz 34). Clearly her talents were varied.

It wasn’t until three years later when Tony Bennett convinced her to return to show business that she did any performing. In 1981 she put on the performance of a lifetime. Her one women show entitled “Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music” ran for fourteen months straight before she took the production on tour.

The original Broadway cast had John Rubinstein as Pippin, Ben Vereen as leading player, Christopher Chadman as Leading Player, Eric Berry as Charles, Jill Clayburgh as Catherine, Leland Palmer as Fastrada, and Irene Ryan as Berthe until her stroke in 1973 that led to her death six weeks later in Santa Monica

Marilyn started off being in movies but she was never really the “star” of the film until 1953 when the movie Niagara came out. This movie is a very drama filled film. In this film Marilyn “Rose” is on a trip to Niagara Falls with her older husband George, they meet another couple there, Polly and Ray. Once they get to know each other Polly thinks Ray and Rose have something going on between them. In the end Ray and Rose were planning on killing Rose’s husband George. This was Marilyn’s biggest movie that made her popular. In the same year Marilyn starred in a movie called Gentleman Prefer Blondes. This film was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. This is a big accomplishment not just for the movie but also for Marilyn as a person. Marilyn Monroe was not just a star in movies, she also was the first Playboy Playmate in 1953.

Smith remained popular throughout the rest of the 1920’s and maintained an active schedule of touring and recording. Most of her releases were credited to either “Bessie Smith and Her Blue Boys” or “Bessie with Her Band,” (NNDB). Other than being a vocalist, Bessie was still apart of vaudeville and musical comedy. She performed in “Mississippi Days” in 1927 and the “Jazz Regiment and “Late Hour Dancers” in 1929. Her first and only screen appearance also took place in 1929, she starred in “St. Louis Blues,” a short film that was given a critical reception (NNDB).

Fonda made her Broadway debut in the 1960 play There Was a Little Girl, for which she received the first of two Tony Award nominations, and made her screen debut later the same year in Tall Story. She rose to fame in 1960s films such as Period of Adjustment (1962), Sunday in New York (1963), Cat Ballou (1965), Barefoot in the Park (1967) and Barbarella (1968). Her first husband was Barbarella director Roger Vadim. A seven-time Academy Award nominee, she received her first nomination for They Shoot Horses, Don't They (1969) and went on to win two Best Actress Oscars in the 1970s for Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978). Her other nominations were for Julia (1977), The China Syndrome (1979), On Golden Pond (1981) and The Morning After (1986). Her other major competitive awards include

Among some of the well-remembered film appearances which garland played, one of the most famous role was acting as Dorothy in the movie the wizard of Oz back in 1939. She has been involved in record breaking

Betty Friedan believed that women should feel and be treated equal to men. Friedan fought for women to embody their power and worth. She was an activist for the women’s rights movement and a founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW). Her book, The Feminine Mystique, connected with her readers by illustrating the standards that women were put under for decades. In the 60’s, women were viewed as nothing but maids and child-bearers. Many women were hesitant to take a stand for this taboo subject; their own rights. Friedan took initiative when everyone else was afraid to. Betty Friedan’s contribution clearly advanced the progression of women’s equality. She accomplished this by writing her famous book, giving a debatable speech, and founding the National Organization for Women.

Audrey Hepburn’s rise to fame was very slow. After World War II ended, when Audrey was fifteen, she and her mother moved to London. There she studied on a ballet scholarship and worked part-time as a model. Soon, she started playing little parts in British movies and taking acting classes. While filming her first good role, “Monte Carlo Baby” the famous French author of Gigi, Collette, discovered her. Audrey went on to play Gigi in the Broadway play, on November 24, 1951, which had a successful run of six months.