Clara Bow

1905–1965 · Silent-film star & Hollywood's original "It Girl"

Clara Bow was the breakout sex symbol of the 1920s, whose turn as a magnetic shopgirl in the 1927 film It made her “The It Girl” and one of the biggest stars of the silent era. Chewed up by fame, scandal and studio pressure, she retired young and lived reclusively for decades. When Marilyn Monroe — a later star endlessly compared to her — died in 1962, Bow spoke about the private cost of being a public sex symbol, having carried that weight herself.

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“A sex symbol is a heavy load to carry when one is tired, hurt and bewildered”

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