1950s pin-up model Bettie Page has been hospitalized following a heart attack in Los Angeles. The eighty-five year old legend was reportedly under supervision for three weeks at another local hospital but suffered the coronary spasm before she was due to be released. Her agent, Mark Roesler described her condition as “critical”.

According to The Associated Press, Page had been battling pneumonia. For many Americans, Bettie Page perfectly bridged the gap between whore and undersexed wife. She posed nude, yes, but with a grace, a sly, natural confidence which exuded intelligence. For a handful of years in the late fifties, she came to symbolize photography and erotic art, or at least the link between the two.

We here at Cinema Blend would like to wish Bettie nothing but a full recovery in the weeks ahead.