Bettie Mae Page (born April 22, 1923), more commonly known as Bettie Page, was an American model and pin-up girl, active mostly in the 1950s.

In addition to common pin-up photos, Page also posed for a number of fetish photos, which earned her a cult following even beyond fetish culture.

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Born on April 22, 1923, in Nashville, Tennessee, Bettie Page was the second of Walter Roy Page and Edna Mae Pirtle's six children. During Bettie's early years, the Page family traveled around the country in search of economic stability.

When Bettie Page was ten, her parents divorced and her mom placed her in an orphanage, along with two of her sisters, while she worked. Still, Bettie overame her situation, and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" at her high school.

As the Salutatorian of her class, Bettie won a $100 scholarship to Peabody College where she studied education while dreaming of becoming an actress. In February 1943, Bettie married her boyfriend of two years, Billy Neal. After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree from Peabody College, Bettie moved to San Francisco, where she got her first modeling job modeling fur coats.

In 1947 Billy and Bettie divorced and Betti moved to New York City in 1950, where she met a cop named Jerry Tibbs. It was Jerry who photographed her and put together her first pin-up portfolio.

Tibbs introduced Bettie Page  to photographer Cass Carr, who photographed her outdoors, and Bettie's modeling career took off. She soon appeared in magazines such as Wink, Eyeful, Titter, and Beauty Parade. But it wasn’t until her photographs were published in Robert Harrison’s magazines that Bettie became a pinup star. In 1955, Bettie won the title "Miss Pinup Girl of the World." In January 1955, she was the centerfold in Playboy’s January issue. She was even named the "Girl with the Perfect Figure," with her photographs appearing on everything from record albums to playing cards.

In 1953, Bettie Page auditioned for an apprenticeship at Sea Cliff Summer Theater in Long Island where she studied acting under the tutelage of Herbert Berghoff. With Berghoff’s encouragement, Bettie secured several roles in various New York productions as well as various television appearances, including an appearance on the Jackie Gleason show. Her off-Broadway productions included Time is a Thief and Sunday Costs Five Pesos.

At the height of her popularity, in 1957, Bettie retired to Florida, where she married and later divorced Armond Walterson. Later on, she also had another failed marriage with Harry Lear.

Through the 1980s and the 1990s, Bettie Page became a modeling icon. The media, intrigued by her mysterious disappearance from the public eye, launched a countrywide search for Bettie.

Comic books soon featured characters that resembled Bettie, contemporary artists such as Olivia, Dave Stevens, and Robert Blue immortalized their idol with their powerful images. Today, Bettie Page is enjoying her private life with her family, but she will always be the "Queen of Pinup."