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Lisa Fonssagrives transformed the fashion industry as the world’s first supermodel. Born 115 years ago as Lisa Birgitta Bernstone on May 17, 1911 in Västra Götaland County, Sweden, she was well versed in painting, sculpting, and attended cooking school. After moving to Paris to train as a ballerina, she married fellow dancer and future photographer Fernand Fonssagrives, with whom she had her daughter, Mia. While coming down in an elevator after a dance lesson in 1936, photographer Willy Maywald asked her to model hats. The pictures were sent to Vogue photographer Horst P. Horst, who then took test photos of Fonssagrives. Fully in tune with her body, she maintained complete control before the camera by incorporating dance moves into her poses, calling it “still-dancing.” For further inspiration, she visited the Louvre to study sculptures on how to sit, stand, place her hands, and smile. After arriving in NYC in 1939, she was noted for creating dramatic shapes with her body while emphasizing her face of high arched eyebrows, pursed lips, and a cut jawline. While Fonssagrives considered herself a “clothes hanger,” she was known as the “Billion-Dollar Baby” for being the “highest-paid, highest-praised high fashion model in the business,” commanding $1,500 per week, and appearing over 100 times in the same magazine. She met Irving Penn on a Vogue assignment in 1947, and they married three years later and had a son, Tom. As fashion’s most prestigious couple, their exclusive collaborations depicted a level of intimacy never before witnessed, with his work enhancing the capabilities of photography and her likeness engrained into the public consciousness. Her career lasted until the 1950s, proving an exception to the rule that modeling careers were short on time to capture youthful beauty. Having privately designed her own clothes for most of her life, Penn asked her to create pieces for a photoshoot, and she then pursued the craft professionally with lines of loungewear and lingerie specially for “ladies with successful husbands who come home late from work.” She also exhibited her sculptures in museums and lived happily before her death on February 4, 1992 at 80.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer theatrically released ‘The Wedding in Monaco,’ 70 years ago on May 17, 1956, just one month after Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III were united in matrimony. After their engagement announcement, the studio was not pleased that the Oscar-winning actress would leave her career behind. Four years remained on her contract, with ‘Designing Woman’ set to reunite her with Jimmy Stewart, but since pressuring the Princess-to-be would reflect negatively on the studio, her bosses agreed to her release. The thought of never acting again hadn’t quite hit Grace as her new reality, and in some ways, she hoped the studio would prevent her from walking away from the life she spent years building. Her exit stipulated a term of never working for a rival studio if she attempted a comeback, and she could only do so at MGM. In the absence of a Monaco press office, a studio publicist handled the media surrounding the wedding, she received the full wardrobe and a bonus of $65k from her last film ‘High Society,’ and head costume designer Helen Rose created her wedding gown. “A fine time for them to suddenly become so nice,” she said. “We battled for years over movie roles, and now that I need them to play hardball, they become a bunch of Santa Clauses over there.” In return, the studio was granted exclusive rights to film a 30-minute documentary directed by Jean Masson, depicting Grace’s arrival on the SS Constitution, various events, the civil and religious ceremonies, and the couple’s honeymoon departure on the Prince’s yacht, Deo Juvante II. This end of the deal was suggested by Rainier and brokered by his attorneys, mostly to publicize Monaco and pay his share of the wedding that her dowry didn’t cover. Grace was uncomfortable with Rainier allowing the wedding to be filmed even though he forced her to give up acting, but since career-related discussions always led to an argument, she decided not to broach the subject. After the wedding was over, they ignored press clippings and considered the entire ordeal a nightmare. “My parents hated their wedding,” said their daughter Princess Caroline. “They didn’t even look at the pictures of it for a year.”

Janet Jackson is a living legend of the music industry. Born 60 years ago as Janet Damita Jo Jackson on May 16, 1966, Gary, Indiana, she was the youngest of ten children, including Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Brandon, Michael, and Randy, to parents Joe and Katherine Jackson. As her brothers found success with their group, The Jackson 5, accounts detailed strict discipline and the father’s abuse within the household, but also their mother’s love. In 1974, Janet first appeared on stage in a Las Vegas act with her brother Randy, impersonating Sonny and Cher. With TV appearances on The Jacksons (‘76), she proved quick to learn lines with great comedic timing, impressing Norman Lear who hired her as Penny on the sitcom Good Times (1977-79). She next starred on A New Kind of Family (1979-80), Diff’rent Strokes (1981-82) and Fame (1984-85). After her brother Michael’s meteoric rise as a singer, she launched her own recording career with her self-titled album in 1982, followed by Dream Street (‘84). With a vocal range of a high soprano and a smooth muted timbre, she became known for a striking stage presence, superior dance moves, and socially conscious lyrics. After the release of Rhythm Nation 1814 (‘89), she was the first artist with seven top 5 singles on one album, and it was among her multi-platinum successes along with Control (‘86), janet. (‘93), The Velvet Rope (‘97), and All For You (‘01). With multiple tours and residencies, she signed with Virgin Records at $32 million, the biggest recording contract at the time. With over 180 million record sales worldwide, later albums were Damita Jo (‘04), 20 Y.O. (‘06), Discipline (‘08), and Unbreakable (‘15). In 2004, a wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl led to one of TV history’s most controversial events and years of a gender and racially charged blacklist. She ultimately reclaimed control, and as of today is the winner of 11 AMAs, 5 Grammys, 10 VMAs, and 11 Billboard Music Awards. Janet holds the record for the most consecutive top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 by a female artist at 18, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019 and Grammy Hall of Fame in 2026.

“Lacroix, sweetie!” That iconic catchphrase uttered by Edina Monsoon on the British comedy ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ conjures the vibrant style of Christian Lacroix. Born 75 years ago on May 16, 1951 in Arles, France, he began sketching and putting together photo albums of costumes from operas and theater. After studying art history and classic Greek and Latin at the University of Montpellier, he enrolled at the Sorbonne in Paris, with his thesis on costumes from 17th century French art. With further instruction at the École du Louvre to become a museum curator, his wife Françoise Rosensthiel encouraged him to focus on fashion design. He learned technical aspects at Hermès and became assistant to Guy Paulin before working as a designer at Jean Patou. In 1987, he opened his eponymous couture house at 73 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris. His designs were bright and extravagant, reflecting his “Provençal roots, his passion for folklore, and his fascination with the history of clothing. His artfully unexpected mixtures express a new form of luxury, simultaneously youthful, baroque, and sophisticated.” Inspiration has been drawn from a variety of cultures, with an emphasis on color, and the grandeur and whimsy costumes of the past. “Lacroix’s style thus confirmed the taste for a typically southern opulence, instilling new life into French haute couture.” Called the “Messiah” for bringing back creativity into what had devolved into a bleak fashion scene, he defined the opulence of the ‘80s, before taking a more abstract approach. With lines of ready-to-wear, menswear, fragrances, cosmetics, and accessories, he designed for ballets, operas, and plays and introduced the attitude that “the Lacroix woman is staged in a theatrical fashion. She is not afraid of being noticed.” He also served as creative director of Emilio Pucci, and through his company XCLX, created airplane, train, and hotel uniforms and interiors. While a 2009’bankruptcy led to the loss of designing under his own name, he focused efforts on costume designing for the stage. Lacroix’s legacy remains unmatched in terms of boldness, making fashion lovers, and of course his devotee Edina, lifelong fans.

Anna Maria Alberghetti displayed her gifts as a successful soprano and actress of the classic era. She was born 90 years ago on May 15, 1936 in Pesaro, Italy to Daniele, an opera singer and concert master father and Vittoria, a pianist mother. Considered a child prodigy, her singing career began at age six with a 100-piece band in the Isle of Rhodes, and a tour throughout Europe in her early teens. Her sister Carla also became a soprano, and her brother Paolo was a conductor by age nine. The family was displaced during WWII, and fled to America when she was 13. Though her father admitted to being an “involuntary fascist,” the family was granted residency due to a bill passed by the Senate. That year, she made her debut at Carnegie Hall and reviews praised her performance as “some of the purest, loveliest sounds that have ever been heard.” She appeared on concert stages and symphonies, including the New York Philharmonic, ahead of a TV debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, the first of 53 appearances. Among her films were The Medium (‘51), Here Comes the Groom (‘51), The Stars are Singing (‘53), The Last Command (‘55), Duel at the Apache Wells (‘57), Ten Thousand Bedrooms (‘57), and Kismet (‘67). Alberghetti had a successful recording career, and turned her attention to the stage, winning a Tony Award for her performance in the musical, Carnival in 1962. After she left the production, her sister replaced her in the role. Other shows included Rose-Marie (‘60), Fanny (‘63, ‘68), West Side Story (‘64), The Fantasticks (‘68), The Most Happy Fella (‘69), Cabaret (‘70), Kismet (‘71), The Student Prince (‘76), The Sound of Music (‘78, ‘85), Side by Side by Sondheim (‘80), Camelot (‘81), The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies (‘00), and Senior Class (‘07). In 1964, she married director Claudio Guzman and had daughters, Alexandra and Pilar. For many years, she focused on her family but returned to TV acting in 2001, and starred in a one-woman show. In 2022, Alberghetti was one of several actresses who spoke out about sexual harassment committed by Jerry Lewis, proving that whether she sings an aria or speaks in support of women, her voice remains a powerful influence on the world.

Through an aura of glamour and mystique, Yutte Stensgaard rose as a cult icon of horror cinema. Born 80 years ago as Jytte Stensgaard on May 14, 1946 in Thisted, Jutland, Denmark, she moved to London at 17 to improve her English and work as an au pair. She got a job as a secretary and interpreter during the day, and was a nightclub entertainer at night where she met an actor who suggested she too enter the profession. Stensgaard enrolled at the Studio Film Craft Drama School, and made her film debut in The Girl with a Pistol (‘68). Further roles were in Zeta One (‘69), Some Girls Do (‘69), If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (‘69), Carry On Again, Doctor (‘69), Doctor in Trouble (‘70), This, That and the Other (‘70), and The Buttercup Chain (‘70). Her appearances in the horror genre became her most memorable, beginning with Scream and Scream Again (1970), where she played Erika, a woman whose fingers are amputated with pliers after attempting to flee a totalitarian state. In 1971, she gave her most widely known performance in the Hammer classic, Lust for a Vampire, as the bisexual vampire Carmilla Karnstein, posing as a student named Mircalla Herritzen in an all-girls school. Though filming was a positive experience, upon viewing the finished film, she was saddened to learn that her voice had been dubbed by another actress. Also a trained singer, she appeared on several UK TV shows including The Saint, The Golden Shot, Broaden Your Mind, Doctor in the House, On the Buses, Special Branch, The Adventures of Dan Quick, Jason King, The Persuaders!, The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, and Dead of Night. Her brief film career came to end after her appearance in Burke & Hare (‘72). She relocated to the U.S., where she had a son and turned to Christianity. Having worked at a boutique and in sales at an Oregon radio station, she initially refused to speak of her former life as an actor, due to the mature content associated with her scenes. After she was contacted for an interview, she became more open amid renewed interest in her performances and attendance at fan conventions. Stensgaard currently lives a quiet life with her third husband, whom she married in 2012.

Senta Berger found success as one of the most popular stars of European cinema. Born 85 years ago on May 13, 1941 in Vienna, Austria, her earliest years were spent under the influence of the Third Reich. She noted that her musician father was forced to join the Nazi party, and her family home was bombed several times before the end of the war. She enrolled in ballet school at age six, but was instructed to leave a decade later when it was determined that her body had developed far too greatly to continue on as a student. With a new focus on acting, she studied drama at the Reinhardt Seminar and became the youngest pupil to enter the Theatre in der Josefstadt. Performing in plays twice weekly, director Willi Forst arrived at the school seeking to cast students in minor roles, and she made her screen debut in 1957. While continuing her stage and film work, Richard Widmark was made aware of Berger and her “Marilyn Monroe figure.” After spotting her riding her bike to the school, he immediately cast her in a small but pivotal role in The Secret Ways (‘61), and she received acclaim throughout the U.S. and Europe. Columbia Pictures signed her to a multiyear deal in 1964, and in addition to lead roles on film, mostly as femme fatales in the espionage, adventure, and horror genres, she maintained a strong presence on television. However, she viewed fame as superficial, saying that the studio merely invented a persona, and she spoke out against the lecherous producers engaging in harassment to manipulate young actresses. She focused on European films by the end of the decade, often pushing the boundaries of cinema through nudity and works considered controversial or unusual. In 1968, she married director Michael Verhoeven, with whom she had two children. He directed her in a handful of films, and the couple founded Sentana Productions, a company that explored political, social, and artistic themes of New German Cinema. Having released her memoir, I Knew That I Could Fly, in 2006, Berger returned to the theater and continues her screen appearances to this very day.

Lily Renée made history as the first woman to work full-time as a comic book artist during the Golden Age of Comics. Born 105 years ago as Lily Renée Willheim on May 12, 1921 in Vienna, Austria, her family was wealthy with a father who managed the Holland America steamship company. Surrounded by culture, she took dance and art classes, with her work exhibited in galleries. In 1938, Anschluss united her country with Nazi Germany. The Willheims and other Jewish families faced persecution, property loss, and Lily was barred from school. Her uncle died in a concentration camp, and she was sent to England until reuniting with her parents in NY. After taking classes at the Art Students League and the School of Visual Arts, she answered an ad for Fiction House to replace male artists in service of WWII. She was hired as a penciler and inker, signing “L. Renee” to hide her gender. In 1943, she drew the “Jane Martin” pilot series for Wings Comics and took over “The Werewolf Hunter” at Rangers Comics, evolving it from lycanthropy to gothic and supernatural narratives and imagery. In addition to changing old professor Armand Broussard to a young leading man, she focused on female characters, no longer victims but as empowering and complex women. Her drawings became a form of resistance to Nazism, and she soon adopted her first and middle names, breaking barriers for women comic book artists. She worked on “The Lost World” in Planet Comics and the espionage agent, “Señorita Rio” for Fight Comics, and as a former artist’s model, incorporated elaborate fashions and her former poses to add individuality. Renée was the only woman on staff to draw covers, before men reclaimed their jobs after the war. She left in 1948 to freelance with husband Eric Peters, on Abbott & Costello Comics at St. John Publications and Elsie the Cow for Borden’s. She drew teenage girl comics, and later wrote plays and illustrated children’s books. After a second marriage to Randolph Phillips, her former career was hidden from her two children until they discovered her work hidden away in a drawer. She participated in conventions and interviews before her death on August 24, 2022 at 101.

90 years ago, ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ drew blood as cinema’s first lesbian vampire. By the time of its premiere on May 11, 1936, five years had passed since the release of ‘Dracula.’ Universal sat on developing a direct sequel, and in 1934, David O. Selznick attempted to produce his own vampire film at MGM by purchasing the rights to Bram Stoker’s story, “Dracula’s Guest.” He hired John L. Balderston, who wrote the 1924 play and 1931 film adaptation, but legal issues arose with Universal and Stoker’s widow, Florence. Selznick sold the rights to Universal, but there were numerous production delays and failed attempts to incorporate Bela Lugosi into the film. The final script by Garrett Fort, no longer reflecting Stoker’s story, began with action immediately picking up from the ending of the first film. The vampiric daughter was officially given life through the casting of Gloria Holden, and Otto Kruger, Marguerite Churchill, Irving Pichel, and Nan Grey also starred. Edward Van Sloan reprised his role as Von Helsing, who destroys the three Brides but overlooks a fourth tomb holding Dracula’s offspring. She becomes Countess Marya Zaleska, cloaked in black with large eyes and mystifying in her presence, and hopes to relinquish her vampire curse to lead a normal life as a painter. Upon her arrival in London, her craving for blood leads her to prey on several victims, and her servant Sandor acts as her enabler. Balderston’s initial idea was to feature a woman torturing men, but when the Production Code Office objected to references of sex, violence, and debauchery, a series of rewrites resulted in covert lesbian undertones. Marya is largely disinterested in men, and erotic and sensual imagery drives the film’s queer subtext. The most notable instance was during her almost bestial seduction of the streetwalker Lili, who poses nude for a portrait and is gazed at with lingering intensity before becoming Marya’s first victim. She also lusts after the heroine Janet, and while she sleeps, Marya descends for an implied kiss. While audiences were warned about the mature nature, reviews praised the stylish production and sinister performance by Holden.

💐 ℋ𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 ℳ𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇’𝓈 𝒟𝒶𝓎! 💐 These beautiful photos of classic Hollywood Moms are sure to brighten up a day meant for appreciating the wonderful mothers in our lives. Each of these ladies wholeheartedly adored their children, and proved that motherhood was among their most rewarding experiences. We must remember that this day is also meant for those who have lost children, lost their mothers, are legal guardians or acting as maternal figures, and those who someday hope to be a mom. Make sure to let special someone know how much they mean to you today. 🌷 Audrey Hepburn with son, Luca Dotti (1971) 🌷 Jayne Mansfield with daughter, Mariska Hargitay (1964) 🌷 Princess Grace of Monaco with son, Prince Albert (1958) 🌷 Elizabeth Taylor with son, Michael Wilding, Jr. (1953) 🌷 Judy Garland and daughter, Liza Minnelli (1949) 🌷 Sophia Loren with son, Carlo Ponti Jr. (1969) 🌷 Hedy Lamarr with son, Anthony Loder (1940s) 🌷 Eartha Kitt with daughter, Kitt Shapiro (1963) 🌷 Natalie Wood with daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner (1971) 🌷 Janet Leigh with daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis (1959) 🌷 Ingrid Bergman with children Isotta, Isabella, and Robertino Rossellini (1959) 🌷 Diahann Carroll with daughter, Suzanne Kay (1960) 🌷 Debbie Reynolds with daughter, Carrie Fisher (1959) 🌷 Gene Tierney with daughter, Christina Cassini (1950) 🌷 Lucille Ball with children, Lucie and Desi Arnaz, Jr. (1955) 🌷 Lauren Bacall with children, Stephen and Leslie Bogart (1954) 🌷 Rita Hayworth with daughters, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan and Rebecca Welles at Lake Tahoe (1951) 🌷 Doris Day with son, Terry Melcher (1950) 🌷 Angela Lansbury with children, Deidre and Anthony (1957) 🌷 Mamie Van Doren with son, Perry Anthony (1957)

Several years before she was TV’s Queen of Comedy, Lucille Ball led the cast of ‘The Dark Corner,’ one of the most underrated film noirs of the Golden Age. Released 80 years ago on May 8, 1946 by 20th Century Fox, Henry Hathaway directed the adaptation of a short story by Leo Rosen. Mark Stevens played private detective Bradford Galt, who relocated to New York City after serving two years in San Quentin for a manslaughter he didn’t commit. Again framed for murder, he and his secretary Kathleen Stewart (Ball) seek to clear his name, while thrown into a conspiracy involving an assortment of malicious characters. Contrary to confident detectives like Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade, Galt is highly troubled and riddled with despair. His line, “I feel all dead inside. I’m backed up in a dark corner and I don’t know who’s hitting me,” demonstrates his imprisonment and current predicament as a metaphor for returning GIs facing tense adjustment to civilian life. The cast also included William Bendix, Kurt Kreuger, Cathy Downs, and Clifton Webb who drives some of the most impressive scenes. Ball was borrowed from MGM, at the time dissatisfied over roles and just weeks away from ending her contract to take control of her career. Also in the midst of marital problems with Desi Arnaz, she was nervous throughout filming, didn’t interact with most of her co-stars, and found it difficult to acclimate to such hard-hitting material. During her first scene at a typewriter, she actually wrote, “Dear Mr. Hathaway. If you knew how nervous I was today, you wouldn’t dare shoot the picture and you would call the whole thing off…Lucy is a sissy.” When she returned that afternoon, a paper typed by Hathaway was waiting for her that read he was just as nervous. In addition to treating Downs improperly, Ball noted that Hathaway bullied her during production. Only a moderate hit, reviews favored Ball as the main attraction in a rare dramatic performance. “When this young lady is given half a chance, she demonstrates a quality of work that is all too rare in pictures,” read one notice. “She has been given ample opportunity in this to display her superior ability.”

Throughout his career, Gary Cooper reigned as a titan of Hollywood. Born 125 years ago as Frank James Cooper on May 7, 1901 in Helena, Montana, he lived for a brief period in his father’s native England before the outbreak of WWI. Raised on the family’s ranch, he learned the value of hard work while herding cattle and shoveling manure at below 40 degrees at 5am in the dead of winter. He attended college for two years and relocated to Los Angeles in 1924. While working as a door-to-door salesman, friends from Montana who became stuntmen introduced him to Warner Bros, and he was hired as a rider and extra in Westerns. After signing with Paramount in 1926, his roles increased and he achieved fame as a leading man. Tall with piercing blue eyes and good looks, Cooper was a commanding presence onscreen, guided by conviction and principle as the “All-American Man.” He possessed an acting style of “quiet hesitancy, natural speech patterns, and uncanny use of stillness,” and was adept at dramas, sophisticated comedies, and of course, Westerns. Renowned for his professionalism, he had an instinctive sense of timing and quick intelligence that enabled him to completely embody the traits of his characters. He won two Best Actor Oscars for his work in Sergeant York (‘41) and High Noon (‘52), with nominations for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (‘36), The Pride of the Yankees (‘42), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (‘43). Some of his most memorable films were The Winning of Barbara Worth (‘26), Wings (‘27), The Shopworm Angel (‘28), The Virginian (‘29), Morocco (‘30), Design for Living (‘33), The Lives of a Bengal Dancer (‘35), Desire (‘36), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (‘36), Meet John Doe (‘41), Ball of Fire (‘41), Saratoga Trunk (‘45), The Fountainhead (‘49), Bright Leaf (‘50), Friendly Persuasion (‘56), Love in the Afternoon (‘57), Man of the West (‘58), The Hanging Tree (‘59), They Came to Cordura (‘59), The Wreck of the Mary Deare (‘59), and The Naked Edge (‘61). Diagnosed with prostate cancer that metastasized to his colon, lungs, and bones, he was awarded with an Honorary Oscar before his death on May 13, 1961 at 60, survived by his wife Veronica Balfe and daughter Maria.