5 Things You May Not Know about Veronica Lake

5 Things You May Not Know about Veronica Lake

Like that today, November 14, would have been her birthday. Happy 94th Birthday to Hollywood legend Veronica Lake!

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1.) Her signature hair, that was an accident

So, are we not going to talk about that “peek-a-boo” panther?

Her iconic hair-do was an accident created on set. While filming I Wanted Wings, a piece of her hair fell in front her face, obscuring her right eye. Her character was drunk, so she didn’t feel the need to correct it. The look stayed and soon the “peek-a-boo” style would be copied by millions of women in America.

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2.) She wanted to be a surgeon

Her character would have made any ‘evil doctor’ proud

Because of her great beauty, Lake was picked up by Hollywood at a fairly young age. However, her dreams were in the medical field. While she was still living in New York, Lake attended McGill University for a year studying pre-med. Although she never met her dream, she did play a Nazi scientist in the 1970 film Flesh Feast. So, I guess that was close enough.

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3.) Hollywood just wasn’t her favorite place

Part of it was because of this…

Despite the fame and fortune that Hollywood brought her, Lake wasn’t the biggest fan of Hollywood. She thought it was a shallow industry that often changed people for the worst. The final straw for Lake was being typecast in sex-symbols roles. So, in 1951 she packed her bags, grabbed her children and left.

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4.) She didn’t need any pity

What poverty looks like???

After leaving Hollywood, Lake’s personal life took a hit and by 1962 she was living at the Martha Washington Hotel. Stories began to circulate that she was living in extreme poverty and fans began sending her money. She sent it back because, well, she wasn’t poor… She had a job as a waitress at a cocktail lounge that she was actually quite happy with, and she was able to pay all of her bills.

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5.) She was on the shorter side

5’5 Paulette Goddard and Dorothy Lamour for scale.

As we all know, the old Hollywood studios liked to embellish a bit when it came to their stars. So, obviously no one questioned when they said that Lake’s height was 5’2”, the lower side of average in the 1940s. In reality, she was about 3 inches shorter, standing at about 4’11”. Another fun little face: That’s how tall I am.

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Minoo Allen for Classic Movie Hub