Betty Grable was born on December 18, 1916 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was her mother who pushed her to pursue an acting career by training her to sing, dance, play the saxophone and ukulele and as well make people laugh. Her father didn’t want her to be in show business, but since she wanted to be a star, Betty Grable moved to Los Angeles with her mother and sought for a movie career and enrolled at the Hollywood Professional School. Not long after, she was cast in the movie Happy Days in 1929. Betty Grable was only 13 at that time and she had to lie about her age in order to get roles in film.

Her first major role in the big screen was in 1932’s Hold ‘Em Jail. This was followed by several supporting roles until she became known to the public for her role in the film Pigskin Parade in 1936. Betty Grable finally scored on a top-billing project, Million Dollar Legs. During this time she wanted to break free from her over-manipulative mother, which led her to marrying co-star Jackie Coogan. The marriage lasted for only two years and ended in divorce.
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