Mae West

Born

1893

Died

1980

From

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA·Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Height

1.52 m (5'0")

Also:
Actress
Writer

Credits on file

Decades active

In short · Acted for 10 decades — 31 credits.

Remembered for

Ranked by community engagement + sustained interest across this person's credits in our database.

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Biography

Mae West was born on August 17, 1893 in Brooklyn, New York, to "Battling Jack" West and Matilda Doelger. She began her career as a child star in vaudeville and later wrote her own plays, including "SEX," for which she was arrested. Though her first movie role, at age 40, was a small part in *Night After Night* (1932), her scene has become famous. A coat check girl exclaims, "Goodness! What lovely diamonds!", after seeing Mae's jewelry. Mae replies, "Goodness had nothing to do with it." Her next film, in which she starred, came the following year. *She Done Him Wrong* (1933) was based on her earlier and very popular play, "Diamond Lil." She went on to write and star in seven more films, including *My Little Chickadee* (1940) with W.C. Fields. Her last movie was *Sextette* (1977), which also came from a play. She died on November 22, 1980.