Bettie Page Dies at Age 85

During the 1950s, there was no other woman quite like Bettie Page. She was the queen of all things erotic, and her fan base reflected her popularity. Her fetish-feeding pin ups and tantalizing photographs have stolen the hearts of millions of people around the world.

Tragically, she passed away Thursday evening in a Los Angeles hospital after spending over a week on life support because of a heart attack she had on December 2. After having a heart attack, Page never managed to regain consciousness. After much deliberation and consultation with doctors, Page's family agreed to remove her life support with heavy hearts. Her fans around the world are mourning the loss of such an iconic figure in history.

Before Bettie Page was the saucy queen of all things sexy, she was a simple young girl gleaming with innocence. She was on her high schools debate team and graduated as the salutatorian of her class. It was until 1950 that modeling would catch her interest, prior to that she actually wanted to be an actress. For the next seven years, she worked relentlessly on her modeling, appealing to the sensual side of all her fans. Bettie made her first appearance in Playboy in 1955 and soon became the undisputable queen of cheesecake pin-up magazines.

For whatever reason, in 1957 Bettie Page seemed to have disappeared. Many speculated about where she went or what she was doing. Radical theories were proposed to cover nearly every possible explanation. Some suggested she had moved to France, while others claimed she had become a nun. None of those were true, unfortunately Bettie was at a tumultuous period in her life and went through a series of divorces and bad relationships.

During the 1970s, Bettie-mania hit and it has yet to end. Her fan base was revived and bondage modeling saw new life and popularity that it hadn't in years. Bettie's retro photographs still serve as an inspiration to many, such as modern nostalgic model Dita Von Teese.

Although her life may now be over, her legacy will live on through her photographs and all the adoring fans she left behind.