Betty Broadbent, born 1909, was the most famous tattooed
attraction of all time. Nicknamed the Tattooed Venus, in 1923
she moved from Orlando, Florida to Atlantic City to take on a
baby-sitting job.
Her interest in
tattoos piqued when she met a tattooed man being exhibited on
the Broadwalk. During her era, tattoos were not popular at all
among women but were more associated with sailors and gangsters.
Originally,
she wanted to become a tattoo artist but decided to become a
work of art instead because she needed money fast. With that in
mind, she convinced herself to get tattooed. Riding on horses in
the rodeo, she saved up enough money and ventured to New York
for her tattoos.
Over a two-year period, Charlie Wagner and Joe Van Hart labored
to pattern her body with an estimated 365 tattoos. At that time,
they were among the first tattooists in the world to use
electric tattooing machines.
Finally,
in 1927, she joined the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey
Circus as the youngest tattooed woman in the world at just 18
years old.
For her performance, she would first appear on stage covered
with a robe. Then the Master of Ceremony would announce,” And
now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the lady’s who’s different!” I know,
it sounds tacky.
She
would then unzip her robe and underneath, she had a long bathing
suit on that ended four inches above her knees. Unknown to many,
Broadbent actually detested the “unethical” tactics her
employers used to attract patrons as much as her nickname, the
Tattoo Venus.
For those who are curious, Broadbent wore Pancho Villa on her
left leg, Charles Lindbergh on her right leg, and had a Madonna
and child portrait on her back. Despite her tattoos, she took
pains to project a feminine and refined image of herself.
Broadbent
was one of the last working tattooed ladies in the United
States, retiring only in 1967 from the Clyde Beatty Circus after
spending 40 years in show business. In 1981, she became the
first person to be honored in the Tattoo Hall of Fame. Sadly,
she died peacefully in her sleep in 1983.
