bonniegrrl | I'm in Entertainment Weekly magazine! (Reply)

I've been reading Entertainment Weekly magazine religiously for years, often writing Grandpa Simpson-style Letters to the Editor about my favorite celebrities, but this is the first time I've been featured in the magazine...in their Obsessive Fan of the Week section.

I've been a die-hard Bettie Page fan for over 15 years, ever since I picked up the comic book Bettie Page in Jungle Land. I became so enthralled by her life story and unique fashion style that I started The Bettie Page 10 years ago when the Web was young and Bettie was only an underground icon with the rockabilly boys.

I not only posted a collection of art, vintage camera-club snapshots, retro men's magazine covers and Bettie collectibles on the site, but photos of myself trying to look like her as well. I've been collecting everything with Bettie's image on it. You name it, I have it -- lunchboxes, lightswitch plates, comics, magazines, books, postcards, stickers, T-shirts, magnets, playing cards, action figures, statues, record covers, trading cards, beach towels, jewelry and more. Let's just say it's pretty easy to shop for me.

I've been interviewed in the book The Real Bettie Page by Richard Foster, and was one of the last people to interview her friend and pin-up photographer Paula Klaw in an article I wrote called "I Was a Teenage Betty."

I admire Bettie Page because she's truly an original. She could portray a cute, innocent girl next door in one photo or the sexy bad girl in leather in the next. She made you believe that being a pin-up model wasn't trashy, but fun. Bettie inspired legions of girls (me included) to copy her classic look, and she's always been a bit of a mystery. While the boys may idolize Boba Fett, I'm all about Bettie Page.