Sexy blonde bombshell Veronica Lake was born Constance Frances Marie Ockelman on November 14, 1922. Expelled from a boarding school, Lake had a troubling childhood. Her mother contended that Veronica dealt with schizophrenia, but no formal diagnosis has been reported.
1941′s I Wanted Wings was her breakthrough role. The film was a box office hit. Later that year she starred in Hold Back the Dawn. Her more popular movies were Sullivan’s Travels, This Gun for Hire, and I Married a Witch.
Lake was considered one of the biggest box office draws in Hollywood during the early 1940s. Years later, Lake would quip, “I never did cheesecake; I just used my hair.” She became known for onscreen pairings with actor Alan Ladd. At first, the couple was teamed together merely out of physical necessity: Lake stood just 4 feet 11½ inches and Ladd was just 5 feet 5 inches tall. Veronica was the only actress then on the Paramount lot short enough to pair with Ladd, and they made four films together.
Though audiences loved her, Lake had a reputation for being difficult to work with, mostly due to her complex personality. Lake’s career faltered with her portrayal as Dora Bruckman in 1944′s The Hour Before the Dawn. The film was bombarded with criticism of her unconvincing German accent. The scathing reviews of her performance, the premature birth and death of her first child, and divorce from her first of several husbands triggered a decline in Lake’s career and personal life.
Her reputation as difficult to work with made the offers begin to wane, and her growing alcoholism didn’t help. As her popularity declined, Paramount decided not to renew her contract in 1948. After only one film for 20th Century Fox, 1949′s Slattery’s Hurricane, her career was over. By the end of 1951, she had appeared in Stronghold, but had to file for bankruptcy. Due to unpaid taxes, the IRS seized her remaining assets.
Lake was unable to get out of her debt; she broke her ankle in 1959, and could not continue acting. The fall of her career devastated her. She was arrested several times for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. By the late 1960s, her physical and mental health continued to paralyze her. She developed paranoia, believing the FBI was stalking her.
She co-produced and starred in her last film, Flesh Feast, in 1970, mostly due to the success of her autobiography. The film was a horror movie with a Nazi-myth storyline, and was panned by critics. Soon after its release, Lake was hospitalized. She died on July 7, 1973 of complications of her alcoholism — hepatitis and renal failure.
