Mae West-the controversial actress who became the first sex symbol of America

May West once jokingly said that she should be given a license to invent sex, which she discovered for Americans. The name of this woman, who drove men of all ages crazy, was synonymous with scandal and emancipation. Mae West became the first actress of the first half of the XX century, who so openly exploited the topic of sex in the theater and cinema that she even went to jail for insulting public morals.

The future sex symbol of America was born in a family where her mother was an actress and her father was a boxer. May's passion for acting has been evident since she was a child. At the age of 7, she already performed on stage, at 16-participated in vaudeville. Parents could not restrain the stormy temper of the girl. She played minor roles that did not bring the desired success, so after a few years, the actress decided to write a play herself and play the main role in it.

She made her Broadway debut in 1926. Mae West directed the sandal play "Sex". The audience loudly resented such an obscene name, but tickets for each performance were sold out at lightning speed. 368 times in a row, Mae West went on stage to play this role, until one day the police came straight to the theater and arrested the actress for indecent behavior and corrupting young people. Outraged wives still got their way, and the brawler was sentenced to ten days in prison. However, she used all her seduction and did not sit there for seven days. From the camera, Mae West came out the most famous actress in America.

Mae West wrote plays and directed films with sexual overtones.

In 1932, Mae West was invited to Hollywood. There she made a film written by herself. The plot was not very deep. The actress continued to exploit the image of a seductive blonde. The censors carefully checked West's films, so there was a lot of subtext in her work, hints. This made her films commercially successful. May West herself said: "I believe in censorship, I made a fortune out of it."

Despite the fact that Mae West was rather short and plump, her femininity and sexuality turned her shortcomings into advantages. But the actress still went to some tricks to hide her height. She wore platform shoes up to 24 cm high. Floor-length dresses hid this trick.

And on stage, West demanded that during the kissing scenes, the actors stand in special recesses on the stage. So the actress did not need to reach out to men, and they, in turn, did not bend very much.

Platform shoes by actress Mae West.

Salvador Dali, fascinated by May, created an entire room in the form of the actress ' face. The most sensual object in it is called the sofa, made in the form of West's lips.

The feminine and sexy Mae West.