The Notorious Bettie Page

Page was the ultimate girl-next door, and one of the most popular Playboy centerfolds. Page challenged the conservative 1950s, posing as a fierce dominatrix and earning both a cult underground following and Senate Committee investigation on juvenile delinquency, essentially a witch-hunt orchestrated by a senator from her home state of Tennessee bent on exploiting her as a stepping stone to the White House. At the height of her popularity, Bettie disappeared. But in 1979 and 1982, Page (a diagnosed schizophrenic) tried to stab several people to death and was institutionalized.