Frances
Day: the
forgotten bi***ual icon of
1930s stage and screen
1935
Image: Sasha/Getty Images
Frances Victoria Schenk was born in East Orange, New Jersey in 1908, and was dancing in New York speakeasies by the age of 16.
She was spotted by Australian entrepreneur Beaumont Alexander, who whisked her off to London, dyed her hair platinum blonde, and changed her name to
Frances Day.
With Alexander’s promotion, Day quickly became one of the most talked-about cabaret acts in the city, her stunning looks and fearlessly bawdy performances driving audiences wild.
At 19, she married Alexander, who was nearly twice her age. Within three years they were separated. Day would never remarry, but would go on to **tch a spectacular record of conquests, both male and female, from the future King Edward VIII and his brother Prince George to the future prime minister, Anthony Eden.
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