CLARA BOW The "it" girl. She was the "it" girl because of how incredibly photogenic she was and for her acting in films. She had something that every young girl anted to have and that was "it". Her career was quick and booming with a total of 55 films in just 10 years (1922-1933). There were almost as many rumored scandals in this time as well. Clara retired from film making at the age of 30, married and lived a quiet life until her death in 1965.
BARBARA STANWYCK Barbara acted in films for 37 years. She got her career start in 1927 as a fan dancer. She always played a strong female. Most of her fame came later though, in the 1960's- 1980's.
MARIE PREVOST Marie was an actress who went from silent films to having speaking roles that could be audibly heard. She appeared in 121 films between the years of 1915-1936. In about half a dozen of these films she portrayed a flapper, as she actually was. After the death of her mother in a tragic car accident, in 1926, Marie began drinking heavily and binge eating. Her career suffered because of this. When she started to see her career suffering because of the weight she had gained from binge eating she started starving herself. In 1937 she was found dead in her apartment because of heart failure from malnutrition and alcoholism. She had died two days previous to being found, she was found only because the neighbors called to complain of her dog barking.
COLLEEN MOORE Colleen was probably the earliest film actress to be typecast as a flapper. She made thirty movies between 1917 and 1924. Moore was a valuable silent film actress with comedic moves and expression. Her "look" was an example to Jazz Age girls, with her short hair, skinny frame, and devil-may-care attitude. Moore later became known for the fantasy dollhouse she created.
DOROTHY PARKER Dorothy wrote poetry, short stories, and essays, and was a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table, a group of fashionable writers and celebrities who met for lunch and drinks and whose lifestyles influenced the smart set from 1919 to 1929.
COCO CHANEL Coco had a brief career on stage in the early 20th century, but will always be known for her fashion designs and the line of clothing and perfume that carries her name. By 1920, the French designer had introduced her "chemise," the simple, short, and loose dress that allowed flappers the freedom of movement to dance the night away.
ZELDA FITZGERALD Zelda was an author and the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Her lifestyle made her a celebrity outside the literary world, and her husband called her "the first American Flapper." The two were notorious for public partying, and their drunken antics were a staple of society headlines in the 1920s. From 1930 on, Zelda was in and out of mental hospitals for the rest of her life.
GILDA GRAY Gilda was not the first to dance the shimmy, but she made it popular nationwide in the 1920s. The young saloon singer went to New York to perform in vaudeville and joined the Ziegfeld Follies in 1922. By then Gray was known as the Shimmy Queen, and made several Hollywood movies between 1919 and 1936.
BESSIE SMITH Bessie began singing in minstrel shows and cabarets in 1912. She toured with vaudeville jazz shows for two decades, singing the blues, and more importantly for history, recording music. Her last recording session was in 1933; she died in an auto accident in 1937.
JOSEPHINE BAKER Josephine achieved some fame in New York as a singer, dancer, and comedienne, but when she went to Paris in 1925, she became an international superstar. Baker's performances ranged from striptease to opera, and were acclaimed from all sides. Baker became a French citizen in 1937. Her work with the French Resistance during World War II earned her the Croix de Guerre. Baker was also active in the Civil Rights movement in America. However, during the 1920s, she was just the most exotic, sexy, and talented woman in Europe.