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Lauren Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske on September 16, 1924 in the Bronx, New York City.
The young Bacall demonstrated an aptitude for acting, enrolling at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She made her Broadway debut in 1942, aged 17, in a production of the musical 'Johnny 2 x 4.' But it was as a model that the burgeoning actress would first find real success.
Bacall's slim, angular looks and height (1.74 m, or 5 ft 8.5 in) immediately caught the eye of fashion editors. She was soon gracing the covers of prestigious lifestyle magazines like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
In fact, it was the Harper's Bazaar cover photograph that attracted the attention of Nancy "Slim" Keith, the wife of Hollywood producer and director Howard Hawks. Keith suggested her husband invite Bacall to take a screen test for his forthcoming movie, 'To Have and Have Not.' In no time at all Lauren Bacall was in Hollywood, and on the brink of stardom.
Lauren Bacall made her screen debut in 'To Have and Have Not' opposite Humphry Bogart. Audience and critical reception was favorable, with everyone commenting on the chemistry between Bogie and his young co-star, and no wonder. Bogart and Bacall began an off-screen relationship during production and would very soon marry.
Meanwhile, a 20-year-old Lauren Bacall was captured in a memorable photograph lounging on top of a piano while Vice President Harry S. Truman played for servicemen at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on February 10, 1945. The actress was helping promote 'To Have and Have Not.'
Bogie and Bacall were Tinseltown's hottest couple. Their next film together was 'The Big Sleep,' Howard Hawkes' classic film noir featuring novelist Raymond Chandler's tough private eye Philip Marlowe.
On May 21, 1945, Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart were married in the village of Lucas in Malabar Farm State Park in Ohio, well away from the glitz and glamor of Hollywood.
On January 6, 1949, Bogie and Bacall welcomed son Stephen into their lives. The youngster is seen here in 1952 clutching his dad's Best Actor Academy Award for 'The African Queen.'
Taking a break from Hollywood, Bacall spent much of her time at home with her husband and son. The couple had a second child, a daughter named Leslie, born August 23, 1952. Bogart, however, was not in the best of health.
Lauren Bacall made just three movies in the 1960s, instead concentrating on her stage career. In 1961, she married actor Jason Robards, the union lasting until 1969.
Their son, Jason, was born on December 16, 1961. Bacall hadn't appeared in a major theater production since 1959's Broadway play 'Goodbye Charlie.' But in 1965 she won rave reviews for her lead role in 'Cactus Flower,' also on Broadway.
The following year, Bogart and Bacall, along with Edward G. Robinson, Lionel Barrymore, and Claire Trevor, appeared in John Huston's crime drama 'Key Largo,' a commercial and critical success. It was the fourth and final film pairing of the married couple.
The second film Bacall made in 1950 was the melodrama 'Bright Leaf' with Gary Cooper. By now, the actress was juggling a busy movie schedule with a happy but demanding domestic life.
In 'Young Man with a Horn,' Bacall appeared opposite Kirk Douglas and Doris Day. She and Douglas first met back in the early 1940s at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, and briefly dated while studying together.
Bacall stated later in her 1978 autobiography, 'By Myself and Then Some,' that she didn't think much of her performance in 'Written on the Wind,' despite the fact that she'd accepted the role of Lucy Moore Hadley at the behest of her now seriously ill husband, plus the favorable reviews the film received.
By the time filming started on 'Designing Woman' in 1956, Bacall was supporting Bogart, who was suffering from terminal cancer. The picture, starring Gregory Peck, was scheduled for a May 1957 release. Bogie died on January 14, four months before its premiere. Bacall mentioned in several interviews afterwards that 'Designing Woman' was one of her favorite films.
Humphrey Bogart' death made headline news around the world. Some of the era's biggest stars attended his funeral, with director John Huston accompanying Bacall to the service with her two children, Stephen and Leslie.
The actress drew down the curtain on the 1950s with the successful British picture 'North West Frontier,' known in the US as 'Flame Over India,' and shot variously on location in India and Spain.
In 1970, she again took the lead on stage, this time in 'Applause,' which opened on Broadway on March 30, and ran for 896 performances. It garnered Bacall a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
A smiling Lauren Bacall is flanked by Shirley MacLaine, Walter Matthau, and and Julie Andrews after receiving her Tony Award for her role in 'Applause.'
For the remainder of the 1970s, Bacall declined film roles in favor of the small screen, her television appearances including a 1979 double episode of 'The Rockford Files.' In 1981, she won a second Tony Award for 'Woman of the Year.' She's pictured rehearsing for the stage musical.
The 1970s welcomed Bacall back onto the big screen as part of an all-star cast in 1974's 'Murder on the Orient Express,' based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie.
The following year she got a call from John Wayne who personally requested her to star alongside him in 'The Shootist.' Released the following year, it was the Duke's last film. For her efforts, Bacall received a BAFTA nomination.
Six years later, Bacall was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a BAFTA in the same category for her role in 'The Mirror Has Two Faces.'
Bacall missed out on the Oscar and BAFTA, but did claim a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for 'The Mirror Has Two Faces.' It was the first major screen award Bacall had won in her career.
In 2009, Lauren Bacall was presented with an Academy Honorary Award for her achievements in cinema.
Her parents, William and Natalie, divorced when Lauren was five. She never saw her father again. She would later take the Romanian form of her mother's last name, Bacall.
The 1980s saw Bacall content with appearing in supporting roles in a number of pictures and guest starring in television films. In 1990, she took a small but significant role as James Caan's agent in Rob Reiner's 'Misery.'
Lauren Bacall's last film appearance was in 'The Forger,' released in 2011. She died on August 12, 2014, aged 89.
Sources: (The New York Times) (Vanity Fair) (Biography)
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In later years, the legendary actress was publicly disdainful of modern Hollywood, a contempt she expressed in her autobiography. But she still managed to appear in eight movies and several short films throughout the 2000s, including 'Dogville' alongside Nicole Kidman.
In 'The Walker,' the actress displayed some of her alluring, sultry presence and her distinctive, husky voice starring alongside Woody Harrelson in this well-received independent crime drama.
Heartbroken, Bacall embarked on a relationship with Frank Sinatra. The pair were soon engaged, but Sinatra broke off the wedding when news of the impending nuptials was leaked to the press.
After a three-year hiatus, Bacall bounced back with a costarring role in 'How to Marry a Millionaire' opposite Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe—the first color picture Bacall appeared in. Grable was an actress Bacall admired greatly, and between them the three stars made the movie a runaway success.
Possessed of a beguiling, sultry presence and a distinctive, husky voice, Lauren Bacall became as well known for her portrayals of provocative and alluring women as for her marriage to Humphrey Bogart. As well as her triumphs on screen, Bacall was an accomplished stage actress. She also made many television appearances. The recipient of an Academy Honorary Award, Golden Globe, and two Tony Awards, plus numerous other accolades including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and the Kennedy Center Honors, the late actress remains a legendary figure in motion picture history.
For a walk down memory lane, click through for an appreciation of the life and work of Lauren Bacall.
The couple were by now proven box-office gold, and teamed up again for the mystery thriller 'Dark Passage.' One critic described Bacall's character, Irene Jansen, as "a sharp-eyed, knows-what-she-wants girl."
The legendary life and work of Lauren Bacall
One of the great female stars of classic Hollywood cinema
CELEBRITY Retrospective
Possessed of a beguiling, sultry presence and a distinctive, husky voice, Lauren Bacall became as well known for her portrayals of provocative and alluring women as for her marriage to Humphrey Bogart. As well as her triumphs on screen, Bacall was an accomplished stage actress. She also made many television appearances. The recipient of an Academy Honorary Award, Golden Globe, and two Tony Awards, plus numerous other accolades including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and the Kennedy Center Honors, the late actress remains a legendary figure in motion picture history.
For a walk down memory lane, click through for an appreciation of the life and work of Lauren Bacall.