Clara Bow: 1920's "It" Girl

I seem to be on a "flapper jag" this month. First Louise Brooks and now Clara Bow has piqued my curiosity. As it turns out, Clara died on my birthday, September 27th,  and that interested me so I decided to do a little sleuthing into her life and numbers.

Clara was born July 29th, 1905 making her a Leo and what a Leo she was! During her brief film career (she made her last film when she was just 26 years old) Clara was the highest paid and most popular movie star in the mid-1920s. And with that wonderful henna-colored leonine head of hair, dyed dark so it would pop out on the black and white screen, which framed her beautiful face she was nothing short of fabulous. She was dubbed the "It" Girl by the British novelist and screenwriter Elinor Glyn who also happened to pioneer the mass marketing of erotic fiction written specifically for women. Glyn was instrumental in boosting the careers of Gloria Swanson and Rudolf Valentino as well.

But what exactly did Glyn mean by "It"? Essentially, it was an euphemism for sex appeal. Glyn explained that "It" referred to a "strange magnetism that attracts both sexes". And if you look at some of Clara's films you know that Glyn knew what she was talking about. It's hard to think of any actress today who possessed such vivaciousness. People who knew Clara and her work all said the same things about her. She projected energy and vitality. She was sexy, mischievous and totally unaffected. When she was on screen you looked at no one else. She demanded your attention. Plus, Clara was a terrific actress. She was famous for her ability to "channel" the character she was portraying and  was a marvelous improviser.

Clara's name translates to a "3" and 3s are "communicators".  They are also the "charmers" and "optimists" of the Universe. They are often entertainers or artists.  The C and the L in "Clara" are both 3 letters and whenever you have a pair of numbers the qualities associated with that number are doubled. The fiery "A" at the end of her name, which corresponds to the number "1", signifies the formidable energy and force she emitted.

Given her unstable childhood haunted by severe poverty and a mentally ill mother prone to violence  it's no wonder she was missing a "4" from her name. The number 4, after all, symbolizes stability and steadiness which despite her enormous success eluded her in her personal life as Clara in her later years also suffered a mental breakdown. She was hospitalized, received shock treatment and spent the rest of her days in her home attended to by a nurse.