Bettie Page: The Last Photograph

Bettie Page has been called the most photographed person in the world. And, they are still saying that 51 years after she abruptly quit being a model and disappeared into a very private life far from the public eye. Bettie Page chose to remain in our memories the way she last appeared – she refused to have her photograph taken after leaving the modeling business. She did have a photograph taken when she was arrested in Florida in 1972, but that photograph was a mug shot and she really didn’t have a choice in the matter.

But then came an important celebration. A celebration of which Bettie played an important role to the host of the celebration. Bettie, of course, was one of Hugh Hefner’s first models, besides Marilyn Monroe, that helped to launch the Playboy empire. The year was 2003 and that year marked the 50th Anniversary of Playboy magazine. Since Bettie was a good friend with Hugh Hefner and she was one of his first models, an invitation was issued to Bettie to attend the 50th Anniversary gala at the famed Playboy Mansion.

Now you can imagine there were all sorts of beautiful women at this party, but it was Bettie everyone wanted to see. Bettie eventually decided to attend the anniversary party with Anna Nicole Smith, another famous Playboy centerfold. The two models made a very grand entrance at the huge gala, and as you can imagine, the two centerfolds received a lot of adoration and attention from the attending crowd. So, on that evening, the camera-shy Bettie Page had her photograph taken with Anna Nicole Smith and Pamela Anderson at the Playboy Mansion some 46 years after she quit being a model and quit having her photograph taken.

Not only is this photograph of historical interest, this is the only photograph of Bettie Page, the Pin-Up Queen, in her later years. For a woman known as the most photographed model in the world, this particular photograph, taken just five years ago, is probably the rarest of Bettie’s many photographs.