Person of the Week: Lauren Bacall

Born to Jewish immigrant parents in 1924, Betty Joan Perske had always had an interest in the theater and in acting. When her parents divorced in 1929, Betty’s mother took an adapted form of her maiden name (changing Bascal to Bacall). Betty decided to distance herself from her father and changed her name to Bacall as well.


Always yearning to be around the theater, Betty took a job as an usher and enjoyed sneaking in to see the pictures that were playing. She especially idolized Bette Davis and studied the actress closely. Little did she realize that years later, she and Davis would become friends.

Near 1942, Bacall started working as a model and, finally, had her first appearance on Broadway in a small walk-on part. It was her modeling more so than her stage experience that caught the attention of Nancy Hawks, wife of director Howard Hawks. Nancy has spotted Bacall on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar in 1943 and urged her husband to give the girl a screen test for his upcoming picture, To Have and Have Not. Hawks was impressed with Bacall despite her nervousness. During her screen test, she was shaking so badly from fear that, to steady her head, she pressed her chin against her chest and looked up at the camera through her lashes. This insecure gesture would become a trademark of Bacall’s acting style which would later be dubbed, “the look.”

Hawks cast Bacall alongside Humphrey Bogart in To Have an Have Not. The title of the picture was fitting in light of the events which would follow. The chemistry between Bogart and Bacall (whose name Hawks had changed to Lauren—a name he thought sounded sultrier than Betty) was undeniable and only increased as Nancy Hawks remade Betty Perske into the glamorous, stylish and desirable Lauren Bacall.

Within weeks of the start of filming, Bogart (who was already on his third wife at that time) and Bacall entered into a relationship which would change the course of film history forever. After a great deal of trouble and some divorce kerfuffle, Bogart and Bacall married in 1945. They had two children and remained married until Bogart’s death in 1957 from esophageal cancer. Theirs was considered one of the great loves of the era. Bogart’s affectionate nickname for his wife and frequent costar, “Baby,” summed up their relationship perfectly. Later, Bacall would marry Jason Robards, having a child with him, before they divorced.

Now considered one of Hollywood’s most legendary and talented actresses, Bacall continues to work in both dramatic and comedic roles, showing the wide range of talent that she displayed in her early film work in the 1940’s. Active in political causes and still very much a major player in Hollywood, Lauren Bacall is one of the few reminders we have of true Hollywood glamour.

For her exceptional body of work and her limitless talent, Lauren Bacall is our “Person of the Week.”