Bettie Page became a sexual icon in the ’50s, and in the beginning, she was too busy having fun to notice. During the early years of her modeling days, she created her own classic image–blunt bangs, red lips, cat eyes, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes–and followed it to success, including a turn in Playboy Magazine.

But some of the photographs she posed for included bondage play and spanking, which was taboo in those days. Considered much too racy to be mainstream, Page cornered the market on an entire underground world that would eventually make her name synonymous with the word “pinup” and would spread her image across the world in various types of media.

Page enjoyed success in the world of modeling throughout most of the ’50s, but by 1958, she seemed to have vanished from the spotlight. Later, it would be revealed that she turned to Christianity after battling court cases revolving around her racy photos, and took herself out of the situation altogether. Over the years, the icon became reclusive and was rarely seen or heard from.

“It had built up so much that my mind snapped,” Page has said.

The famous pinup has been quoted as telling a judge, “I’m not indecent, I will not plead guilty to it! You’ll have to charge me with disturbing the peace, too!”

Now, much of Page’s story has been compiled into a documentary called “Bettie Page Reveals All”, which includes archives from her modeling days, video, and rare audio footage.

“They claim that I opened up the sexual revolution,” Page said. “I was just doing my job and enjoyed every bit of it.”

The film opens in select cities starting on November 22.

Image: Wikimedia Commons