Born Betty Joan Perske in 1924, Lauren Bacall lived a lucky life—and she knew it. In her 1978 autobiography By Myself, republished with additional material in 2005 as By Myself and Then Some, the word “luck” seems to appear more frequently than any other.
In these pages, Bacall—long painted as a difficult diva—recounts her life with a sense of humor, curiosity, and gratitude that’s miles from her icy, grande dame persona. From her worshipful flirtation with politician Adlai Stevenson to her friendships with everyone from Robert Kennedy to Vivien Leigh and Nicole Kidman, Bacall recounts her exciting life in an honest, emotional, and vulnerable way that’s rare to find in a celebrity autobiography.
“I realize that I’ve lived a long time,” she wrote in 2005. “But still not long enough to suit me.”
A Good Jewish Girl
Bacall was raised in New York City by her beloved, hard-working divorced mother and a tight-knit group of aunts, uncles, and a grandmother who originally hailed from Romania. Taught to be a “good Jewish girl” by her family of lawyers and executive secretaries, Bacall was a go-getting dreamer who knew the stage was where she wanted to be.
When she wasn’t taking acting lessons (where she casually dated a young Kirk Douglas), a teenage Bacall could be found outside legendary Broadway haunts like Sardi’s, hawking Cue magazine in an effort to meet producers. “There I’d stand outside, stopping all and sundry to buy my products,” she writes. “I kept my eyes peeled for the sight of a recognizable producer, actor, anyone who might help me get a job. I really was crazy, now that I think of it, and rather fresh, flip, nervy.”
