Warner Bros. billed Ann Sheridan as the “Oomph Girl,” and that pretty much sums it up. She had sex appeal to spare. Born Clara Lou Sheridan on February 21, 1915, in Denton, Texas, Sheridan was studying to become a teacher when her sister entered her in Paramount’s “Search for Beauty” contest. The 19-year-old Sheridan won, and first prize was a screen test and a bit part in a movie. A star was born. That special, inexplicable “oomph” made her a popular pin-up in the 40s along with Betty Grable and landed her lead roles in films like Torrid Zone, Nora Prentiss, The Unfaithful, Kings Row with Ronald Reagan and I Was a Male War Bride opposite Cary Grant.
Sheridan was named Max Factor's "Girl of the Year" for 1939. Later, in 1952, she was voted one of the eight best dressed women in America by the Fashion Academy of New York.
As a testament to her truly enviable figure, she was used as a body double while at Paramount. This was before she became a huge star, of course.
Warner Bros. wanted to portray Ann as a "girl about town," so her contract demanded that she hit the nightclubs at least three times a week. Bet Lindsay Lohan would have loved that!
In 1939, a UCLA student handcuffed himself to Ann during a movie premiere on a fraternity bet and swallowed the key! A locksmith had to be called to the theater to unlock her.
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