Lauren Bacall

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American actress, a star for over a half century. A former model, she was onscreen since 1944 when she played with Humphrey Bogart in "To Have and Have Not." Bacall was the daughter of a salesman and an executive secretary, adoring her mother. She was six when her parents divorced and two years older when her dad disappeared. Her uncle sponsored her attendance at a private boarding school, where she took ballet for years. By the time she was 15, her ambition was acting. She enrolled for a year at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, supporting herself by modeling in the garment district and ushering at Broadway shows. When she appeared on the March 1943 cover of Harper's Bazaar, her picture caught the eye of director Howard Hawks, who imported her into Hollywood. She signed a seven-year contract with Warner Bros. for $100 a week and settled into an apartment with her mom. When Bacall played her first role opposite Bogart, she was so nervous that she shook, and for the famous scene in which she says, "Anybody got a match?" she held her chin down to control her shaking, looking up at Bogie, a famously seductive look. Bogart was 43 and on his third marriage, to alcoholic actress Mayo Methot. They began an affair which resulted in their marriage on 5/21/1945, producing two kids, Stephen, 1949 and Leslie, 1952. They became America's most celebrated couple and made several more films together, "The Big Sleep," 1946 and "Key Largo," 1948. After Bogart died of cancer 1/14/1957, Bacall went into a year-long depression, and her career diminished as the studios largely ignored her. A New Yorker by heart, she found a new life on the stage and an grand apartment where she lived for the next 30 years, except when making a picture in Hollywood or elsewhere. In 1965 she had a long-running stage hit, "Cactus Flower," followed five years later by "Applause" for which she won a Tony in 1970. In 1981 she had another Broadway success, "Woman of the Year," for which she won another Tony, and in 1985, received rave reviews for "Sweet Bird of Youth." Her movie career continued with films that included "Harper," 1966, "Murder on the Orient Express," 1974 and "Ready to Wear," 1994. She authored two autobiographical books, "By Myself," and "Now." Bacall made a second marriage to Jason Robards for a little over eight years; they had one son, Sam, December 1961. She later said that they were a mismatch and that's all there was to it. The turbulent, unhappy marriage lasted from 1961 to 1969, during which time Robards was drinking heavily and unfaithful. By the '90s, Bacall was one of Hollywood's most enduring icons, winning critical acclaim, a Golden Globe award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in "The Mirror Has Two Faces." Her image gradually became that of an astringent and resourceful woman of the world and an accomplished actress. At 71, she was glamorous, intelligent, witty and opinionated, complete with her own special star magic. Bacall died in the morning of August 12, 2014 at the age of 89 at her home in New York City from a massive stroke. Link to Wikipedia biography