ACTOR
Lauren Bacall
59 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (59)
- #001
When Howard Hawks discovered her, he gave her the choice of working with either Cary Grant or Humphrey Bogart. Bacall was eager to work with Grant, but Hawks decided to cast her opposite Bogart in To Have and Have Not (1944), and one of Hollywood's greatest loves began.
- #002
She was 17 when she met Gregory Peck and they became close friends. At the time he was an usher. They remained close until his death.
- #003
Along with Veronica Lake, Julie London and Rita Hayworth, she was one of the four inspirations that helped shape the character of Jessica Rabbit.
- #004
Howard Hawks fired her because her nasal voice was too high-pitched, but she spent two weeks improving her voice, and when she returned to visit Hawks two weeks later she had a deep, husky voice.
- #005
Those close to her called her by her real name, "Betty."
- #006
Bacall was living in the same New York building (The Dakota) when Beatle John Lennon was shot and later died on 8 December 1980. In an interview about the subject on a British television programme hosted by former model Twiggy, Bacall said she heard the gunshot but assumed it was a car tyre bursting or a vehicle backfiring.
- #007
She was a respected actress for the last sixty years and was nominated for an Oscar only once. She was 72 when she was nominated for The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996).
- #008
Her son Sam Robards was born on 16 December 1961 with her second husband, Jason Robards. Katharine Hepburn, a longtime friend of Bacall's, was his godmother.
- #009
Humphrey Bogart wanted her as his leading lady in In a Lonely Place (1950) and Sabrina (1954).
- #010
Her on-screen persona was entirely based on and modelled after Howard Hawks's wife, Slim. She even uses her name in To Have and Have Not (1944).
- #011
Her daughter Leslie Bogart was born on 23 August 1952. She was named after the actor Leslie Howard, who helped Humphrey Bogart land his breakthrough role in the play The Petrified Forest (1936).
- #012
Shortly after Humphrey Bogart's death, she announced to the press that she was engaged to Frank Sinatra. Sinatra immediately backed out.
- #013
Bacall's marriage to Humphrey Bogart took place at "Malabar Farm" in Pleasant Valley (Richland County), Ohio, the home of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield. An important landmark since 1939, "Malabar Farm" is now a state park of the same name.
- #014
On IMDb she has the second-lowest name ID, immediately after Fred Astaire and immediately before Brigitte Bardot.
- #015
She won a Tony Award for the role of Margo Channing in the Broadway production of the musical "Applause," adapted from All About Eve (1950). It was presented by Walter Matthau.
- #016
Along with Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Swifty Lazar (aka "Swifty" Lazar) and close friends, she was part of one of the first "Rat Packs."
- #017
Her son Stephen H. Bogart was born on 6 January 1949. He was named after Humphrey Bogart's character in To Have and Have Not (1944).
- #018
Six months after giving birth to her daughter Leslie Bogart, she returned to work to begin filming How to Marry a Millionaire (1953).
- #019
On 16 December 1961, at the age of 37, she gave birth to her third child, Sam Robards. The child's father was her second (now former) husband, Jason Robards.
- #020
Inspired by seeing Bette Davis in films, she enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she dated Kirk Douglas, who was there on a scholarship. Because girls were not accepted on scholarships, she had to leave after a year, and while working as an usher in the evenings she first modelled swimsuits and then modelled aprons.
- #021
On 8 February 1960 she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1724 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.
- #022
Her autobiography "By Myself" won the National Book Award in 1980.
- #023
She was a close friend of Dirk Bogarde. Bacall had visited him at his London home a day before his death in May 1999.
- #024
On 6 January 1949, at the age of 24, she gave birth to her first child, Stephen H. Bogart. The child's father was her first husband, Humphrey Bogart.
- #025
After losing her showroom modeling job and dropping out of acting school for financial reasons, the young Bacall found work as an usher in a Broadway theater. George Jean Nathan named her the most beautiful usher of the 1942 season in the pages of "Esquire".
- #026
She made two films with John Wayne, Blood Alley (1955) and The Shootist (1976). During the former, Bacall's then-husband Humphrey Bogart was dying of throat cancer. By the time she made her second film with Wayne, Wayne had lost a lung to cancer twelve years earlier, which mirrored the fate of his character in the story.
- #027
Before her death, she was the only surviving legend mentioned in a popular line from Madonna's 1990s number-one hit song "Vogue".
- #028
Still undiscovered at the time, Bacall volunteered as a hostess at the New York branch of the Stage Door Canteen, working on Monday nights when the cinemas were closed.
- #029
She was named by Empire magazine as one of the 100 sexiest stars in film history (at number 6) (1995).
- #030
Appearing on the cover of Harper's Bazaar at the age of 18 led to her first film role; she was spotted by the wife of director Howard Hawks, who had her take a screen test and cast her in To Have and Have Not (1944). The role was in fact based on and named after Hawks's then-wife, Nancy Gross "Slim" Hawks. She repeated this "tribute" in Ready to Wear (1994), in which she played a character named Slim Chrysler shortly after the death of "Slim" Hawks (her name at the time of death: Nancy "Slim" Keith, Lady Keith); the film was released fifty years after the premiere of To Have and Have Not (1944).
- #031
She was named by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World (1997).
- #032
She was the mother of the actor Sam Robards and of Stephen H. Bogart and Leslie Bogart.
- #033
On 23 August 1952, at the age of 27, she gave birth to her second child, Leslie Bogart. The child's father was her first husband, Humphrey Bogart.
- #034
She appeared with her husband Humphrey Bogart on their joint radio program "Bold Venture" (1951-52). Her character's name was Sailor Duval.
- #035
She quit smoking in the mid-1980s.
- #036
She stated that she wanted to play Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967).
- #037
In 1942 she was given the title "Miss Greenwich Village".
- #038
On 29 August 2018, during TCM's Summer Under the Stars, she was honored with a day of programming devoted to her film work.
- #039
She initially wanted and intended to become a dancer, having taken ballet lessons since infancy, but during her adolescence she became interested in acting.
- #040
On January 10, 1997, Lauren Bacall was honored with a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California.
- #041
Lauren Bacall ranked 20th on the AFI's list of the 25 Greatest Female Screen Legends.
- #042
Lauren Bacall campaigned for Harry S. Truman in the 1948 presidential election.
- #043
One of the auditoriums in the Tuckwood cinema complex in Belgrade, Serbia, bears Lauren Bacall's name.
- #044
Lauren Bacall was educated at Highland Manor, a private boarding school in Tarrytown, New York (thanks to the generosity of her wealthy uncles), and later at Julia Richman High School in Manhattan.
- #045
After her death, Lauren Bacall was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
- #046
With her first film, To Have and Have Not (1944), Lauren Bacall became a worldwide star at the age of 19.
- #047
Humphrey Bogart campaigned for Lauren Bacall to play Laurel Gray opposite him in In a Lonely Place (1950), but the role went to Gloria Grahame instead.
- #048
Lauren Bacall made her New York stage debut in 1942 with Johnny Two-by-Four.
- #049
Lauren Bacall is an AADA graduate (American Academy of Dramatic Arts), Class of 1942.
- #050
Lauren Bacall never appeared in a film nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.
- #051
J. Arthur Rank considered Lauren Bacall for the lead roles in The Red Shoes (1948) and Ophelia in Hamlet (1948), but her contract with WB prevented her from traveling to England.
- #052
In September 2024, Lauren Bacall was honored as Star of the Month on Turner Classic Movies.
- #053
Lauren Bacall was Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month for September 2024.
- #054
In Italy, Lauren Bacall was dubbed early in her career by Clelia Bernacchi and then, in most cases, by Lydia Simoneschi. Franca Dominici, Renata Marini and Anna Miserocchi also voiced Bacall at one point.
- #055
Lauren Bacall worked as an usher.
- #056
Lauren Bacall shares her birthday with Jennifer Tilly, the star of Family Guy (1999), though they do not appear in the same episode.
- #057
Lauren Bacall's second marriage was to Jason Robards.
- #058
Lauren Bacall was educated at Highland Manor School in New York State.
- #059
Lauren Bacall wrote her autobiography, 'By Myself,' which won the National Book Award in 1978.
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