Mae West Biography

Born Mary Jane West on 17 August 1893, she was the eldest surviving child of a boxer and corset model. She first entertained a crowd at the age of five, performing at a church social. She starred in amateur shows from the age of seven and from the age of 14 she performed in vaudeville shows under the name Baby Mae.

Her acts included a male impersonator and Sis Hopkins. She was singled out by the New York Times at the age of 18.

She finally got her break in 1918 when she starred in the Shubert Brother's revue 'Sometime' and danced the Shimmy. She then started writing her own 'risque' plays under the pen name Jane Mast.

West's first starring role in Broadway was the lead in the play 'Sex ', which she had written, produced and directed. Critics hated the show but ticket sales were good. It did not go down well with city officials and the theatre was raided.

She was prosecuted on moral charges and sentenced to ten days in prison on 19 April 1927. During her prison time, which was cut short by two days due to good behaviour, West dined with the warden and his wife.

Her next play 'The Drag' dealt with homosexuality and she wanted to open the play in New York but this never happened due to the Society for the Prevention of Vice.

West continued to write plays, which were controversial, but meant she stayed in the press and her shows were always packed out. Her 1928 play 'Diamond Lil' about a racy, easygoing lady of the 1890s became a Broadway hit.

After wowing Broadway in 'Diamond Lil', she signed with Paramount in 1932 and moved to Hollywood. Her risque 1930s comedies were ground-breaking, in terms of both sexual content and roles for women.

Her films included 'Night After Night' and 'She Done Him Wrong', which was the film version of 'Diamond Lil', and broke all existing box-office records, credited with saving Paramount from having to sell out to its rival, MGM.

Some people claim the Hays censorship code of 1934 was brought about almost singlehandedly by Mae West. If so, she gave Hays a run for his money in 'I'm No Angel', 'Belle Of The Nineties', and 'Klondike Annie'.

Despite her perseverance, however, she was bucking a huge political and movie-making machine by going up against Hays. Her roles were made tamer, leading her to abandon Hollywood. Of the nine movies she made before her retreat, she shared writer's credit for five of them.

West spent the rest of her life producing, writing, and starring in plays and musical revues. She did not return to the silver screen for decades, finally making a brief appearance in 'Myra Brenkenridge' in 1970. Once again, she enjoyed total creative control over her part. Her last film was released in 1978, 'Sextette', when she was 85-years-old.

But by then, she was suffering from memory loss, which impaired her famous delivery and caused her dialogue to seem stilted.

Mae West died on 22 November 1980.

Uncover the life and times of a screen legend - She Always Knew How: Mae West, a Personal Biography by Charlotte Chandler

The acclaimed biographer of Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and other stars profiles one of Hollywood's most colourful actresses, Mae West.

Go West - Mae West: Screen Goddess

This six-disc DVD collection includes timeless Mae West classics such as 'She Done Him Wrong' and 'I'm No Angel, offering film fans the chance to rediscover one of Hollywood's brightest stars of the 1930s.