Betty Broadbent, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetBetty Broadbent
circus performer
Date of Birth: 11-Nov-1909
Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Date of Death: 28-Mar-1983
Profession: circus performer
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio 
About Betty Broadbent
- Betty Broadbent (November 1, 1909 - March 28, 1983) also known as the “Tattooed Venus” was born on November 1, 1909 in Philadelphia.
- Broadbent’s interest in tattooing began at the early age of fourteen.
- It was then Broadbent met Jack Redcloud while working as a nanny in Atlantic City.
- Jack Redcloud first came in contact with Broadbent on the boardwalk in Atlantic City.
- He was covered in tattoos, which fascinated Broadbent.
- This fascination would lead Redcloud to introduce Broadbent to his tattoo artist, Charlie Wagner.
- In 1927 Wagner, alongside several other tattoo artists, including: Tony Rhineagear, Joe Van Hart and Red Gibbons would tattoo a bodysuit of over 565 tattoos on Broadbent.Charlie Wagner was friends with the circus man Clyde Ingalls.
- When Ingalls discovered Broadbent’s passion for tattooing, he offered her a position at the circus.
- In the same year, Broadbent began exhibiting her art with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
- While working at the circus, Broadbent also trained as a steer rider who would perform with circus performer Tom Mix.
- Later in Broadbent’s career, she learned how to ride horses and mules.Broadbent’s tattoos varied in theme.
- On Broadbent’s back, she had a tattoo of the Madonna and child.
- The art on her lower limbs included a tattoo of Charles Lindbergh on her right leg and a tattoo of Pancho Villa on her left.
- One of Broadbent’s more famous tattoos took over six sittings, a spread-eagle that stretched from one shoulder to the other.
- On May 3, of 1939 the New York Times would quote Broadbent stating, “It hurt something awful, but it was worth it.” While working in a sideshow in 1939, Broadbent challenged the traditional views of beauty for women during the 1930s by participating in a beauty pageant at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.Alongside exhibiting her art, Broadbent tattooed others herself.
- She worked in shops across the country including spaces located in Montreal, San Francisco and New York.
- In 1937, Betty Broadbent decided to take her job internationally.
- She spent time working for independent circuses in both New Zealand and Australia.
- When she returned home to the United States, she continued performing and travelling in a sideshow until 1967.
- It was in 1967 that Broadbent retired.
- Broadbent is regarded as the most photographed tattooed lady of the 20th century.
- In 1981, Broadbent was the first person to be inducted into the Tattoo Hall of Fame.
- Broadbent died in her sleep while living in Florida on March 28, 1983.
Read more at Wikipedia