The IT Girl

In the 1920’s Clara Bow was the Queen of Hollywood.  She had an expressive face, universal appeal and was carefree.  She became a Flapper icon.  Bow was a sensation and her movies were box office gold.  She made 57 films.  Even with a Brooklyn accent she was able to make the transition to sound and made 11 talkies.  In 1925 she made an astonishing 15 films.  She played the lead role in the 1927 film Wings which won the first Academy Award.  She flipped the ritual of courtship in her films and pursued the man.

Bow’s films include: Maytime (1923), Black Oxen (1923), The Plastic Age (1925), Mantrap (1926), Wings (1927), It (1927), The Wild Party (1929) and Hoop-La (1933).

The IT Girl

Thanks to a magazine article written by Elinor Glyn IT refers to someone who is attractive with sex appeal.  Her article inspired Bow’s 1927 movie IT and she has been forever known as “The It Girl”.

In 1931 Bow married Rex Bell and moved to a ranch in Nevada.  They had two sons.  In 1933 she made her last film called Hoop-La.  Bow suffered chronic insomnia and later in her life was diagnosed with schizophrenia.  She lived in a little bungalow until her death of a heart attack in 1965 at the age of 60.

Clara Bow and her husband Rex Bell

If you’re interested in Clara Bow some of her movies can be found on YouTube.