Meryl Streep Photographed by Jack Mitchell in New York, 1976

In August 1976, iconic photographer Jack Mitchell captured a series of portraits of Meryl Streep in New York City. At the time, Streep was a 27-year-old rising stage actress and a true Hollywood ingénue, long before The Deer Hunter (1978) or her first Oscar win catapulted her into global stardom.

According to the archives of legendary arts photographer Jack Mitchell, this particular shoot was commissioned for After Dark magazine (eventually published in May 1977). Mitchell often recalled a stark contrast between this first session and their later collaborations. Streep was relatively unknown to the general public. She arrived at Mitchell’s Manhattan studio completely on her own, taking a standard yellow taxi. Mitchell shot a beautiful series of portraits of her, capturing a raw, fresh-faced charisma.

Just two years later, when The New York Times magazine assigned Mitchell to photograph her again, everything had changed. This time, she arrived at the studio in a limousine, flanked by a publicist and her longtime makeup artist, J. Roy Helland.

The images from that August 1976 session showcase Meryl Streep with her signature long blonde hair, minimal makeup, and an effortlessly luminous, candid presence. They stand as a definitive visual record of an icon on the absolute precipice of fame.

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Cyndi Lauper of Blue Angel Posing for a Portrait Session in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1980

Before she became a global solo superstar with She’s So Unusual in 1983, Cyndi Lauper was the frontwoman of a retro-rockabilly and new wave band called Blue Angel. In 1980, they released their self-titled debut (and only) album.

Moving away from the hard rock she had sung in cover bands, Blue Angel mixed 1950s rockabilly, girl-group pop, and modern 1980s new wave. The album put Cyndi’s massive, four-octave vocal range on full display. It featured her first recording of “I’m Gonna Be Strong” (a Gene Pitney cover), a song she would famously re-record later in her solo career.

Even in 1980, Cyndi was cultivating her signature look. She sported a vintage, brassy look with bright hair, thrift-store style, and a vibrant energy that previewed her iconic ’80s solo aesthetic.

The band was signed to Polydor Records and recorded the album with high hopes. It received positive reviews from critics who praised Cyndi’s powerhouse vocals, but it ultimately failed to chart significantly. Despite their potential, 1980 proved to be a bittersweet turning point. Because the album sold poorly, the band fired their manager, Steve Massarsky. Massarsky sued the band for $80,000, which eventually forced Cyndi Lauper to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1981.

“Leaving Blue Angel was terrifying because we were completely broke and the industry had written me off, Cyndi Lauper later recalled. “But I knew I needed to find my own voice without any compromises. When I started working on my solo material, I wanted to create music that was vibrant, fun, and empowering for women. Taking that risk allowed me to finally express who I truly was, both visually and musically.”

To make ends meet, Cyndi spent the immediate post-Blue Angel period singing in retail stores and working as a waitress. However, her distinct talent in Blue Angel had caught the eye of music executives, eventually leading to her solo contract with Portrait Records.

Rolling Stone magazine later gave the Blue Angel album a retrospective nod, praising it as a brilliant blend of classic rock-and-roll innocence and punk-era edge, highlighting that Lauper was already a force to be reckoned with.

(Photos by Govert De Roos)

France Anglade: The Radiant Smile of 1960s French Cinema

France Anglade (1942–2014) was a charming and radiant French actress who became one of the fresh faces of European cinema in the 1960s.

With her bright smile, sparkling eyes, and natural, girl-next-door beauty, Anglade embodied the youthful elegance and playful spirit of the decade. She gained popularity through films such as The Sultans (1966), The Young Wolves (1968), and several successful Italian and French productions.

Though her acting career was relatively brief, Anglade left a lasting impression as a symbol of 1960s French femininity: sweet yet modern, innocent yet alluring. Her warmth and photogenic presence made her a favorite among audiences during the Swinging Sixties.

These charming vintage photos capture the bright smile, natural grace, and youthful vitality of France Anglade, one of the most endearing and photogenic actresses of 1960s French and European cinema.

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18 Portraits of Judy Holliday in the 1940s

Judy Holliday (born Judith Tuvim, June 21, 1921 – June 7, 1965) was an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. In the 1940s, Holliday transformed from a struggling nightclub performer into one of Broadway’s brightest stars, laying the groundwork for her Hollywood success. Despite possessing a genius IQ of 172, she built her fame by playing variations of the squeaky-voiced, seemingly airheaded “dumb blonde” character.

She spent the early part of the decade performing with a satirical comedy troupe called “The Revuers” alongside future Broadway legends Betty Comden and Adolph Green. To make ends meet in New York, she worked as a switchboard operator at Orson Welles’s Mercury Theatre. The Revuers moved to Los Angeles and signed with 20th Century Fox. Holliday appeared in minor, forgettable bit parts in mid-1940s films like Winged Victory and Greenwich Village before the studio dropped her.

Returning to New York, she made her formal Broadway debut in the 1945 play Kiss Them for Me, winning critical praise for playing a wistful prostitute. Her life changed forever when she was cast as Billie Dawn in Garson Kanin’s Born Yesterday (1946). Playing the dim-witted but secretly sharp mistress of a corrupt tycoon, Holliday became an overnight sensation. The stage production ran for four years and skyrocketed her to theatrical stardom.

Columbia Pictures initially hesitated to cast her in the movie adaptation of Born Yesterday. To prove her on-screen viability, her friend Katharine Hepburn and director George Cukor custom-tailored a scene-stealing supporting role for her in the classic romantic comedy Adam’s Rib (1949).

Her brilliant, hilarious performance as a woman who shoots her cheating husband convinced Columbia executive Harry Cohn that she was a star. This secured her the leading role in the 1950 film version of Born Yesterday, which ultimately won her an Academy Award for Best Actress.

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Amazing Photos of Victorian Bazaars Around 1880

Via Wolfgang Wiggers, these amazing photographs come from an album of photographs by George Matthew Bridges (1854-1929) of Kings Lynn.

Bridges was an artist and decorator who designed scenic bazaars. The album contains photos of the designs and of the finished bazaars around 1880. He may have created the album himself to show his works to customers.

Bazaar "Constantinople"

Bazaar "Egypt"

Bazaar "Greece"

Bazaar "India"

Bazaar "India"

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A Gallery of 50 Wonderful Color Photos of Jane Russell in the 1950s

In the 1950s, Jane Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was at the absolute peak of her stardom, evolving from a controversial 1940s bombshell into one of Hollywood’s most bankable, charismatic, and multi-talented leading ladies. While her early career was defined by the sheer hype of her debut in The Outlaw (which fought censors for years), the 1950s allowed her to showcase her sharp comedic timing, robust singing voice, and genuine screen presence.

Though Marilyn Monroe often dominates the modern memory of the technicolor masterpiece Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Russell was actually the top-billed star at the time, and she was paid significantly more ($200,000 compared to Monroe's $18,000). Russell played Dorothy Shaw, the sharp-witted, grounded brunette foil to Monroe’s naive Lorelei Lee. Contrary to the tabloid rumors of a bitter rivalry, Russell and Monroe got along famously. Russell often protected the notoriously anxious Monroe on set, helping her out of her dressing room when stage fright struck.

Russell spent much of the 1950s under contract to eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes (via RKO Pictures), who was obsessed with her image. However, Russell herself had a brilliant, down-to-earth sense of humor that subverted the passive sex-symbol trope. She often played women who were witty, fiercely independent, and completely unfazed by alpha males. She held her own against the toughest leading men of the era, starring alongside Robert Mitchum in the gritty noirs His Kind of Woman (1951) and Macao (1952), and Clark Gable in the Western The Tall Men (1955).

Russell wasn’t just a film actress; she utilized her deep, sultry contralto voice extensively throughout the decade. Beyond Blondes, she starred in musical comedies like Double Dynamite (1951) with Frank Sinatra and Groucho Marx, and The French Line (1953).

The 1950s cemented Russell as a pop-culture icon of industrial proportions. Howard Hughes famously used his structural engineering background to design a seamless, cantilevered underwire bra specifically to emphasize her bust during The Outlaw. Though Russell later admitted she secretly discarded the uncomfortable contraption and just used her own clever padding, the “Jane Russell bra” became a cultural fixture of 1950s Americana, eventually leading her to become a famous spokesperson for Playtex bras in later decades.

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Anna Maria Ferrero: The Delicate Beauty of Mid-Century Italian Cinema

Anna Maria Ferrero (1934–2018) was a delicate and enchanting Italian actress who shone brightly in the 1950s and early ’60s. With her porcelain skin, expressive eyes, and gentle, refined beauty, she often portrayed sensitive, romantic, or aristocratic characters with subtle emotional depth.

Ferrero gained significant critical attention for her performances in films such as Michelangelo Antonioni’s Le Amiche (1955) and The Gambler (1958). She also found success in French cinema, sharing the screen with stars like Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon.

Though her career was relatively short, Anna Maria Ferrero left a lasting impression as one of the most elegant and lyrical actresses of postwar Italian cinema. These exquisite vintage photos capture her fragile grace, luminous beauty, and quiet sensitivity, qualities that made her a distinctive presence on the European screen.

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