Remembered for her peekaboo hairstyle in Paramount's 1941 I Wanted Wings and a reputation for being difficult to work with, actress Veronica Lake managed in her relatively short period of stardom to appear in several movies that went on to become classics: more than half a century later, her performances in Sullivan's Travels, This Gun for Hire, and The Blue Dahlia still hold up.

Born in Brooklyn as Constance Ockleman, she was an attractive child, and she began to win beauty contests during her teenage years, while her family was living in Florida. When they resettled in Southern California, her mother urged her to try acting. By 1939, using her stepfather's last name, she was playing small parts as Constance Keane in such films as All Women Have Secrets and Sorority House. She also appeared opposite veteran tipsy comedian Leon Errol in a 1939 RKO comedy short...