Clara Bow -- The 'It' Girl with Schizophrenia

From the depths of poverty to the shining lights of Hollywood, Clara Bow's life seems to be something straight out of movie. Raised with a father who was gone most days and a mother who was violent and uneasy, the young girl often found solace in movies. She won a contest in 1921, scoring her a small role in her first movie.

The infamous 'It Girl' first appeared in her first film in 1922, playing sexy broad Virginia Gardener in Beyond the Rainbow. She appeared in a numerous amount of silent films after.

1922 was a good year for Bow. But every victory comes with it's problems. Bow's mother, who struggled with her schizophrenia for years, threatened to kill her daughter with a knife. She later died the following year.

The nickname 'It Girl' came from her appearance in the hit movie 'It'. She would later appear in films such as 'Call Her Savage' and 'Hoopla'.

She would later come to struggle with her mental health. Bow exhibited symptoms of schizophrenia, like her mother. She attempted suicide in 1944. She would later admit herself into a psychiatric hospital, where she would be formally diagnosed with schizophrenia.

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References:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_1464538#:~:text=Bow%20was%20diagnosed%20with%20schizophrenia,contributions%20to%20the%20film%20industry.

https://medium.com/@NathanToulane/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-it-girl-clara-bows-brief-brilliant-career-efcf7bb78a3f