Facts About Mae West: The Classic Hollywood Icon Who Defined Onscreen Empowerment and Sass
Of all the popular actresses of the '30s, Mae West may well have been the most daring. The actress, singer and writer became iconic for her delightfully sassy roles in comedies like She Done Him Wrong, I’m No Angel and Goin’ to Town, and she paved a way for women to be unapologetically bold and sexual onscreen.
Even if you don’t know Mae West’s name, you’ve likely heard her quotes (the naughty line “Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?” — yep, that’s one of hers!) and enjoyed watching strong women who’ve carried on her legacy, from Madonna to Samantha from Sex and the City.
Here are some fascinating facts to know about West’s singular life and career.
Mae West was in her 40s when she became a movie star
Mae West was born Mary Jane West in Brooklyn in 1893. She began her career as a performer in vaudeville and Broadway shows, and honed her signature vampy persona on the stage. In 1932, Hollywood came calling when she was given a contract with Paramount and cast in her first film, Night After Night.
Even now, it’s rare for a woman to become a movie star in her 40s, and it was nearly unheard of during Hollywood’s Golden Age. West developed her own niche in Hollywood, playing sultry-voiced, self-assured women, and became a sex symbol at an age when many women’s careers would be winding down.
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She was an accomplished writer
In addition to being an actress, West also wrote plays. Her first play, which she wrote, produced, directed and starred in in 1926, was called Sex, and as you might be able to guess, it caused a major scandal at the time. West was even sentenced to 10 days in jail on obscenity charges, but instead of ruining her career, this just helped her build up her rebellious mythology.
West also cowrote the screenplays for all of her most famous films, which was a rarity in Hollywood at the time. The fact that she wrote her own dialogue definitely contributed to the staying power of her provocative words.
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Mae West helped to put Cary Grant on the map
Early in his career, the eternally suave Cary Grant starred opposite West in She Done Him Wrong and I’m No Angel. Grant had already been in a number of films, but wasn’t yet a household name, and the two films with West helped him break out.
Because West always played the part of a bawdy seductress, it wasn’t necessarily easy to find men who could compete with her formidable presence, but Grant was able to hold his own, leading West to claim that she discovered him.
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She had some of the most quotable lines of all time
The curvy, self-confident star delivered some of the most quotable lines of her day. West is known for popularizing the pickup line “Why don’t you come up and see me sometime?” and had other gloriously risque bon mots like the aforementioned “Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?,” “It’s not the men in your life that counts, it’s the life in your men,” “When women go wrong, men go right after them,” and “When I'm good, I'm very good. But when I'm bad, I’m better” — to quote just a few.
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