Celebrated for her seductive voice, striking looks and success on both stage and screen, Lauren’s name and fame reached glorious heights during the ‘Golden Age’ of motion pictures. She will forever be remembered that way, no less an icon now that she’s gone.

Born 1924 Betty Joan Perske, in the Bronx, Lauren, who was an only child, originally planned to be a dancer. She later got the acting bug, enrolling at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her face got her places. A Harper’s Bazaar caught the attention of a powerful Hollywood director’s wife, who invited her to screen test for her first film To Have and Have Not. A star was born, and it was here she met and fell in love with Humphrey Bogart. A year later they married, and it was to be the first of several films they made together.

Later in her career, after Bogart’s passing, Lauren began to tire of ‘modern Hollywood’. She returned to her roots and found real critical acclaim on Broadway, winning Tonys for her roles in Applause and Woman of the Year. If you could have met her, Lauren would have asked you to call her by her given name, ‘Betty’.