caption death_date death_place years_active birth_place children other_names nationality name domesticpartner birth_date spouse image article_title birth_name occupation death_cause
grable in 1951 2 july 1973 los angeles , california , u.s. 1929 -- 73 st. louis , missouri , u.s. victoria -lrb- b. 1947 -rrb- elizabeth james -lrb- b. 1944 -rrb- jessica james frances dean american betty grable bob remick -lrb- until her death -rrb- 18 december 1916 jackie 1943 1965 -lrb- divorced -rrb- two children coogan 1937 1939 -lrb- divorced -rrb- harry james betty grable - 1951.jpg border betty grable
 elizabeth ruth grable actress , dancer , singer lung cancer
betty grable

elizabeth ruth `` betty '' grable -lrb- december 18 , 1916 -- july 2 , 1973 -rrb- was an american actress , dancer , and singer and popular contract star for 20th century-fox during the 1940s and 1950s .
grable began her film career in 1929 at age twelve , after which she was fired from a contract when it was learned she signed up under false identification .
she had contracts with rko and paramount pictures during the 1930s , and appeared in a string of b-movies , mostly portraying co-eds .
grable came to prominence in the broadway musical `` dubarry was a lady '' -lrb- 1939 -rrb- , which brought her to the attention of 20th century-fox .
she replaced alice faye in `` down argentine way '' -lrb- 1940 -rrb- , her first major hollywood film , and became fox 's biggest film star throughout the remaining decade .
fox cast grable in a succession of technicolor musicals during the decade that were immensely popular , co-starring with such leading men as victor mature , don ameche , john payne , and tyrone power .
in 1943 , she was the number one box office draw in the world and , in 1947 , she was the highest-paid entertainer in the united states .
two of her biggest film successes were the musical `` mother wore tights '' -lrb- 1947 -rrb- and the comedy `` how to marry a millionaire '' -lrb- 1953 -rrb- , one of her last films .
grable retired from screen acting in 1955 after she withdrew from her fox contract , although she continued to perform on the stage and on television .
throughout her career , grable was celebrated for having the most beautiful legs in hollywood and studio publicity often photographed her featuring them .
her bathing suit poster made her the number one pin-up girl of world war ii , surpassing rita hayworth .
it was later included in the life magazine project `` 100 photographs that changed the world '' .
hosiery specialists of the era often noted the ideal proportions of her legs as thigh -lrb- -rrb- , calf -lrb- -rrb- , and ankle -lrb- -rrb- .
grable 's legs were famously insured by her studio for $ 1 million with lloyds of london .
