Bacall, Lauren (redirected from Betty Joan Perske)

Bacall, Lauren

 orig. Betty Joan Perske

(born Sept. 16, 1924, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. actress. She worked as a model while seeking Broadway roles; her photograph on a magazine cover led to her casting in the film To Have and Have Not (1944) with Humphrey Bogart, whom she soon married. An instant success, she made three more films with Bogart: The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947), and Key Largo (1948). She also appeared in such memorable films as How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and Murder on the Orient Express (1974). On Broadway she won Tony Awards for her performances in Applause (1970) and Woman of the Year (1981).

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Bacall, Lauren (b. Betty Joan Perske) (1924–  ) movie actress; born in New York City. Although she had attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and appeared in a few Broadway plays, she was called to the attention of movie director Howard Hawks while working as a model. She made her screen debut in To Have and Have Not (1944), and nicknamed "the Look," she immediately caught the public's fancy with her feline grace and husky voice. She married her costar, Humphrey Bogart, in 1945 and made three more movies with him. After his death she was married for some years to Jason Robards Jr. (1961–69). Her screen career tended to decline after Harper (1966) but she enjoyed a new popularity in musicals on Broadway, particularly Applause (1970).