15 Golden Age Stars Who Were Strippers Before Fame

In 1936, a thirteen-year-old girl walked into a liquor-licensed San Francisco nightclub, said she was eighteen, and nobody checked. That girl was Ann Miller, and she was far from the only Golden Age star with a hidden start. Before the studio contracts, before the Oscars and the movie posters, these Hollywood legends danced in speakeasies, burlesque houses, cabarets and rough nightclubs. In this video we go through the untold "before fame" stories of Ann Miller, Rita Hayworth, Barbara Stanwyck, Ruby Keeler, Gypsy Rose Lee, Yvonne De Carlo, Marlene Dietrich, Sally Rand, Mae West, Joan Crawford, Lucille Ball, Betty Grable and June Havoc. Child stars like Shirley Temple had tutors, capped hours and welfare workers on set, but nightclubs had no such rules. Find out how these women lied about their age, crossed borders, dodged police raids and survived Prohibition-era clubs on their way to fame. Which story surprised you the most? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe for more untold histories from Hollywood's Golden Age. #GoldenAgeHollywood #OldHollywood #HollywoodHistory related keywords: golden age hollywood, old hollywood stars, hollywood before fame, classic hollywood secrets, ann miller, rita hayworth, barbara stanwyck, ruby keeler, gypsy rose lee, yvonne de carlo, marlene dietrich, sally rand, mae west, joan crawford, lucille ball, betty grable, june havoc, burlesque history, speakeasy history, prohibition era, texas guinan, minsky's burlesque, 1930s hollywood, hollywood untold stories, forgotten hollywood history, classic movie stars, vintage hollywood, hollywood dark secrets, old hollywood scandals