We are thrilled to relaunch our What a Bettie! column to highlight the many Bettie Babes around the world who consider our Queen a major inspiration. This round we’re featuring Sydney, a UK-based artist whose mother reached out way back when we sent out the first call for nominations. (Major cool mom points!) In our recent interview, Sydney shared how Bettie has boosted her confidence and helped her cope with chronic illness.

BPF: Tell us a bit about yourself – where do you live, and what do you do for work and fun?

SYDNEY: I am 20 years old and I’m from the UK. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 I was laid off from working as a chart corrector which was a pretty cool job, but as you know many companies are struggling at the moment.

I absolutely love art! I practice whenever I can every day and hope to make it a career in the future. [Click Sydney’s spectacular Bettie illustration below to browse more of her incredible art!] I recently started yoga and really getting into fitness to help with stress and my Crohn’s disease. 

BPF: When and how did you first learn about Bettie?  

SYDNEY: I was very young, actually. My mum is a fan of pinup and had bought the film The Notorious Bettie Page, and it came at a time that I was old enough to watch it. I was completely besotted by this character and her story and thought, Wow, how confident and uplifting she was! I had to look up the real Bettie, and oh my, was I mesmerized by this beautiful and natural woman, it was at that moment she became my biggest inspiration and muse. 

BPF: What are some of the things you most love and admire about Bettie?   

SYDNEY: Where do I start?! First of all, I love the Bettie bangs. And I love how different she looks, and it’s all natural! Another thing is that her story is so powerful and shocking, and she still kept on smiling throughout – that’s why she is my biggest inspiration. I also love her cheekiness and quirky personality.

And her photos are to die for, of course! When she is posing or filming she shows that you can be yourself and goof around and have fun – not like modern models, all serious, on strict diets, and every picture has to be just right and photoshopped.

BPF: In what ways does Bettie influence and inspire you overall or in your daily life?

SYDNEY: Bettie has helped me through a lot! I’ve experienced some very dark times, including a horrible breakup where my confidence was just kicked to the dirt, but Bettie brightened up my life again. Another big thing she helped me through was my Crohn’s disease – again, my confidence was knocked down, and I wondered how I was supposed to feel pretty or confident with this disease. I was in so much physical pain every day and still in college at the time.

Growing my confidence and getting it back has been a journey, but whenever I’m feeling not myself or get bad news, I always think, What would Bettie do? I think she would stand tall and smile and carry on, and that’s what I always think about when I’m feeling down. I soon did a pinup photo shoot for my college project, in which I channeled my inner Bettie and remembered to just have fun and let loose and be goofy. It made me feel so confident!

Also, being a teen girl at the time and seeing all these girls wear the same clothes and this contour makeup that was popular then, along with the Instagram models, made me think, Why do I look different and not like them? Bettie was unique and naturally beautiful – not photoshopped nor wearing loads of makeup, so yes, Bettie is a huge inspiration and I wish to be like her. 

I’m thankful for pages like yours that share Bettie memories and help her legacy live on. Seeing posts and photos of Bettie make me so happy. She is a huge influence to many, and her story deserves to be known.

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