“You look like Clara Bow, in this light, remarkable. All your life, did you know you’d be picked like a rose?” Taylor Swift graciously explored the life of the most infamous and misunderstood “it girls” in her song, “Clara Bow.”
It’s one of Hollywood’s most notorious symbols: “The It Girl.” Like changing tides, each decade a new “it girl” washes over. As one finally reaches the shore, a new figure comes rushing in to take reign of the new era.
What is an “It Girl?”
Society proclaims its coveted woman of their time. Their pure existence enchants the minds of the common folk. These women are known for their beauty, style, descent and character. The media revolves around their scandalous lives without missing a beat on the next hot gossip.
Regardless of how society paints these women with their devious brushes, they are all greatly misunderstood. With all the focus on their valorous lives and the preface of their entity, the surface below never gets scratched.
The malice of all the chits and chatters transcends the true nature of these women. All of that to say, who are these feminine icons under all the glitz and glamour?
Clara Bow
Born on July 29, 1905, in Brooklyn, New York was the fabled Clara Bow. The phrase “The It Girl” is so commonly known all thanks to her. Beyond the surface of her beloved looks, laid a troublesome life and a series of mental health issues. With an absent father and ill-repute mother, going to the movies was her way of escaping. Her reputation as a “wild child” presented a struggle to be taken seriously in the film industry.
“All the time the flapper is laughing and dancing, there’s a feeling of tragedy underneath. She’s unhappy and disillusioned and that’s what people sense.”
Clara Bow
Being at the center of exploitation and her life put on stage led to her own demise. Her diagnosis of schizophrenia and suicide attempt in the 1940s doesn’t quite reflect the image of your classic “it girl.” Conformity was not a word in Bow’s vocabulary. With rumors of affairs and other racy stories of her sex life made stardom insufferable. To find out these rumors were proclaimed false poses the question: “Is being the ‘it girl’ really worth it?”
Gloria Vanderbilt
Gloria Vanderbilt was the coined “Barbie” of her time. Titled as an American artist, author, actress, fashion designer, heiress and socialite, she was certainly a “jill of all trades.” Or better said, “jean of all trades.” Vanderbilt was renowned for her perfect luxury denim –– the jean! At the height of her fashion business, she made $200 million in sales.
At only 10 years of age, a news item that became a public sensation or better known to be “the trial of the century” was Vanderbilts’s public custody battle. The infatuation derived from insight into the lives of the lavish during the time of the Great Depression. It was a rigid trial between her widowed mother, Morgan Vanderbilt and her aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, following the death of Gloria’s father.
The trail was not afraid to air people’s dirty laundry. Her mom was labeled as “unfit.” The messiness heightened when one of their maids accused Gloria’s mother of having an affair with a relative of the British Royal Family in court.
Her tumultuous family life certainly did not reflect her lush and lavish lifestyle. Her father was an avid gambler and alcoholic. He died of liver failure only 15 months after Gloria was born. This granted the heiress a $4 million ($73 million today) trust fund she would be fit to claim at 21. However, tragedy didn’t end there, later in life Vanderbilt would watch one of her sons take his own life.
Amidst all the calamities she faced, her positive outlook on life outweighed all the sorrow.
“I think that without pain, we can’t know what joy is. It is part of living to go through tragedy and if we don’t have pain, we don’t know we’re alive.”
Gloria Vanderbilt
Audrey Hepburn
The legacy of a true star and humanitarian, Audrey Hepburn compares to no other. The actress’s appearances in films including “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Roman Holiday” and “My Fair Lady” made her an everlasting “it girl.”
She spent most of her youth in England at boarding school and into the early years of World War II. Before the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, she attended the Arnhem Conservatory. Her activism shone through even in her adolescence. According to an article from The New York Times, she helped the resistance movement by distributing messages.
Her love life on screen paralleled to romance off screen with costar Mel Ferrer. The couple got married on September 25, 1954, in Switzerland. Hepburn did her best to remain private about her relationship with Ferrer by keeping their wedding a secret from the press. However, his many marriages and neurotic behavior did not get past Hepburn’s mother, Ella van Heemstra as she did not approve. Her divorce would later prove mom right, after 14 years of marriage the two split.
“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries or the way she combs her hair.”
Audrey Hepburn
Marylin Monroe
Last but most certainly not least is the beloved, Marylin Monroe. Her beauty transcends from decade to decade, crowning her the “it girl” of all time.
Born on June 1, 1926, the “it girl” spent many years jumping from foster homes and orphanages. This was due to her mother’s inability to raise her. However, moving in with Grace McKee Goddard at 11 would transform her destiny.
The coveted “sex symbol” had a breathy voice that became a staple to her identity. Many think this throaty-like style was her trademark to match her Hollywood fame and fortune. We have come to find out that Monroe initially had a stutter in her early childhood and her raspy and scratchy voice was an attempt to overcome this stutter.
Many people look at Marilyn Moroe with lust and jealousy. However, behind all of the opulence is great sadness. Monroe struggled with barbiturates and her mental health. Her death remains a controversy as some believe it was a “probable suicide” due to an overdose. Although she died at a young age only being 36 years old, her legacy persists.
Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.
Marylin Monroe
Any “it girls” we missed? Let us know by tweeting us @VALLEYmag on X!
