21 Unexpected Insights About the Legendary “It Girl” Clara Bow

As one of the silent film era's most iconic figures, Clara Bow earned the title of Hollywood’s original “It Girl.” Yet, her life was far more than just her iconic bobbed hair and flapper style. Discover 21 fascinating details about this trailblazing star of early cinema.

Clara Bow hailed from Brooklyn.

Born on July 29, 1905, Clara Gordon Bow entered the world in a modest tenement above a Baptist church at 697 Bergen Street in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights. Her parents, Sarah and Robert, struggled financially, leading to frequent moves throughout Brooklyn during her early years. Bow’s thick Brooklyn accent posed challenges during the shift to sound films, though contrary to popular belief, it did not end her career.

Bow has ties to a famous Brooklyn tale.

During her childhood in Brooklyn, Bow briefly worked at a hot dog stand operated by Nathan Handwerker. Her time there was short-lived, as she won an acting competition in 1921, setting her on the road to stardom. Handwerker, however, found success in the food industry, transforming his humble stand into the renowned Nathan’s Famous brand. (Interestingly, Cary Grant also once worked at Nathan’s.)

Her debut film role was entirely removed.

Winning the “Fame and Fortune” magazine contest landed Bow her first film role in Beyond the Rainbow, where she portrayed the younger sister of the main character. Excitedly, she invited two school friends to watch the film, only to find her scenes had been completely excised from the final cut.

Bow’s mother once attempted to take her life.

Sarah Bow’s reaction to her daughter entering the movie contest was far from mild. Upon learning of Clara’s participation, Sarah fainted and declared that Clara was destined for hell. The situation escalated when Sarah attempted to kill Clara during the filming of Beyond the Rainbow. One night, Clara awoke to find her mother looming over her with a butcher knife, uttering, “I’m gonna kill ya, Clara. It’ll be better.” Sarah later fainted and had no memory of the event. In another incident, she chased Clara around their apartment with a knife. Sarah was eventually committed to a psychiatric facility, while Clara struggled with insomnia for the rest of her life.

Bow wasn’t the first flapper in cinema...

While Clara Bow is widely regarded as the quintessential flapper of silent films, she wasn’t the first. That distinction belongs to the ill-fated Olive Thomas, who starred in The Flapper (1920), three years before Bow’s flapper role in Black Oxen. Additionally, actress Colleen Moore preceded Bow with her role in Flaming Youth earlier in 1923.

... But she was the first to be called the “It Girl.”

Bow’s most culturally influential film was It, which tells the story of a salesgirl (Bow) who falls for her department store’s high-society manager. The movie was inspired by a two-part Cosmopolitan serial by Elinor Glyn, who described “It” as “a magnetic quality that attracts everyone. If you possess ‘It,’ you can captivate all men as a woman or all women as a man. ‘It’ encompasses both mental charm and physical allure.” Paramount paid Glyn $50,000 for the rights to the concept and her endorsement of Bow as the “It Girl.” Glyn also makes a cameo in the film as herself.

The title of “It Girl” wasn’t Bow’s only moniker.

In a tactless reference to Bow’s tumultuous personal life and struggles with mental health, producer and studio executive B.P. Schulberg dubbed her “Crisis-A-Day Clara.”

Bow enjoyed immense popularity.

Bow was adored by audiences. From 1927 to 1930, she ranked as either the top or second-highest box office attraction in the U.S. At her peak, she received an astonishing 45,000 fan letters in just one month.

She had the ability to cry on demand.

Bow’s talent for crying convincingly at a moment’s notice was noted by William Kaplan, a Paramount prop man, who said, “She could cry at the drop of a hat, and you’d believe her.” She first demonstrated this skill in her debut film, Beyond the Rainbow, though she later revealed the emotional source of her ability: “It was easy for me t'cry. All I hadda do was think of home.”

Bow was once engaged to the director behind Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.

Bow was once engaged to Victor Fleming, the future director of Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. Fleming also helmed the 1933 comedy Bombshell, starring Jean Harlow as a wildly popular actress desperate to break free from her parasitic entourage, only to realize her true calling lies in stardom. The film, as detailed in the biography Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow, is a satirical take on Bow’s own life.

She played a key role in the invention of the boom mic.

While director Dorothy Arzner is often credited with creating the first boom mic, the truth is more nuanced, as many filmmakers were experimenting with sound technology simultaneously. However, Bow’s behavior on set significantly influenced its development. During the filming of her first talkie, 1929’s The Wild Party, Bow’s tendency to move around posed challenges for stationary microphones. To address this, Arzner attached a microphone to a fishing rod, effectively creating the precursor to the modern boom mic.

Bow stood up for Dorothy Arzner following an uncomfortable incident on set.

During the filming of Get Your Man (1927), Arzner unintentionally sparked laughter among the crew when she directed Bow and co-star Buddy Rogers to “come together, meet in the middle, and we fade out.” Bow rushed to the flustered director, hugged her, and exclaimed, “She don’t know what she said! ... The boys’ll try ta twist everythin’ into a double meanin’ on ya, see. Anythin’ for a laugh.”

Bow found herself at the center of an early Hollywood scandal.

One of the most notorious episodes in Bow’s life involved her former secretary and close friend Daisy DeVoe, who was tried for allegedly embezzling from Bow. The 1931 trial and ensuing media frenzy exposed intimate details about Bow’s lavish lifestyle and romantic entanglements. DeVoe had taken many of Bow’s personal documents, including love letters, which were presented as evidence in court. Amid the Great Depression, the public turned against Bow, and her career never regained its former glory. DeVoe was found guilty of grand theft and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

A tabloid journalist took extreme measures to publish salacious rumors about Bow—and ended up in jail for it.

The tabloid Court Reporter, allegedly sourcing scandalous details about Bow’s personal life from DeVoe, published outrageous claims about the troubled actress. These included allegations of drug use, affairs with women, public indecency, and even bestiality. The publisher, Fred Girnau, faced consequences when he was convicted of mailing obscene material and sentenced to up to five years in prison.

Rumors swirled that Bow had an affair with John Wayne.

One of the most infamous rumors about Bow’s romantic escapades originated from Kenneth Anger’s controversial Hollywood Babylon, which spread sensational—and largely fabricated—stories about early Hollywood stars. According to Anger, Bow allegedly had wild parties and intimate encounters with the entire USC football team, including a young Marion Morrison, who later became famous as John Wayne. However, no evidence supports these claims.

Bow starred in the first film to win the Best Picture Oscar—though she wasn’t particularly fond of it.

Bow played the leading lady in the inaugural winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture: 1927’s Wings, a romantic war drama about two World War I pilots. (Technically, that year’s top award was split into two categories: “Outstanding Picture” and “Unique and Artistic Picture.” Wings won the former.) Despite the film’s success, Bow disliked her “girl next door” role, dismissing Wings as “a man’s picture, and I’m just the whipped cream on top of the pie.”

Bela Lugosi once commissioned a nude painting of Bow.

Concerned that her thick Brooklyn accent might hinder her move to sound films, Bow attended a stage production of Dracula, starring Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi, who performed in English despite not yet speaking the language fluently. Their brief connection left such an impression on Lugosi that he had a nude painting of Bow created, which he kept until his passing.

Bow and Gary Cooper were romantically involved.

While Clara Bow wasn't the sole reason Gary Cooper entered the film industry, she played a significant role in his early career. Noticing him on the Paramount lot, Bow demanded he be included in the cast of It, where he landed a minor role as a newspaper reporter. He later appeared alongside her in Wings. Their relationship, though brief and passionate, lasted six months before Cooper's mother's disapproval contributed to their split. Bow famously remarked post-breakup that Cooper possessed 'the largest in Hollywood but lacked the drive to match.'

After retiring from acting at a young age, she transitioned to ranching.

Clara Bow's last movie, Hoopla, was released in 1933 when she was just 28. She then moved to a ranch in Searchlight, Nevada, with her husband, Western star Rex Bell. Named Walking Box Ranch, a nod to vintage Hollywood cameras, it served as both a cattle ranch until the 1980s and a retreat for Bow's celebrity friends like Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, and Errol Flynn.

Bow received a diagnosis of schizophrenia later in her life.

During her forties, Bow underwent extensive psychotherapy and received a schizophrenia diagnosis. (Her mother also struggled with mental illness and passed away in a psychiatric facility.) Therapy unearthed repressed childhood trauma, such as being confined to a bug-ridden closet by her mother to entertain clients and enduring sexual abuse from her father.

Bow served as a muse for Betty Boop...

Bow was among the women who influenced Max Fleischer in creating Betty Boop, the iconic flapper with a high-pitched voice. Singer Helen Kane, who accused Paramount of caricaturing her, also contributed to the character. However, the court dismissed Kane's lawsuit, stating that Boop was a blend of multiple inspirations, including Bow.

Further Reading: Clara Bow: Runnin’ Wild by David Stenn