Born 1926 in Kershaw, South Carolina, American model and actress Elizabeth Threatt went to New York at 19 and began a successful modeling career where she was known as Betty. She worked with all the great photographers for magazines like Harper’s and Vogue. Her dark exotic beauty was especially in demand for beauty advertising campaigns.
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| Elizabeth Threatt in the 1940s and ’50s |
In 1952, director Howard Hawks saw her photograph and cast her as the Blackfoot princess Teal Eye in his acclaimed frontier film The Big Sky (1952). Although she was a notable part of this successful film, Threatt left the picture business and never acted again.
Threatt died in 1993 in Concord, North Carolina, aged 67.
Take a look at these stunning photos to see portraits of a young Elizabeth Threatt as a model in the 1940s and 1950s.
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| Betty Threatt in an Odette Barsa Original lingerie, Harper's Bazaar, October 1946 |
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| Betty Threatt is wearing a hat made up of gold surplus Navy braid by Chanda, silver faille dress by Charles James, Kislav gloves, photo by Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Harper's Bazaar, November 1946 |
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| Betty Threatt in a three-piece wool suit by Herbert Sondheim, hat by Walter Florell, bag by Koret, Vogue, September 1, 1947 |
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| Betty Threatt in beautiful Wesley Simpson cinnamon plaid dress by Claire McCardell, photo by Weitzen, Vogue, August 15, 1947 |
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| Betty Threatt in dinner dress of dark green Hockanum wool buttoned with jewels and pleated from the long torso by Bruno, Kodachrome by Genevieve Naylor, Harper's Bazaar, September 1947 |
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