Alex Carson
Many women who step into the limelight become famous from their talents whether it be singing, dancing, acting or even all three. On top of that, their beauty adds to their fame. But there are some female celebrities who became famous just for their beauty – and at times, for certain assets that they may have.
One of these celebrities was Vikki Dougan – who became famous for her backside. Now in her nineties, she was one of the most famous glamour models of her time and it was due to her backside – which was unusual and unique and provocative for the time.
But how did Vikki Dougan start his career? And what was her life like after she stepped out of the limelight and did she enjoy the journey?
Vikki Dougan Regrets Being Famous for Her Backside. Join FactsVerse to learn more about her life and career…
VIKKI DOUGAN’S EARLY LIFE AND CAREER
Vikki Dougan was born as Edith Tooker on January 1st, 1929, in Brooklyn, New York. She came from a stable beginning as her father was an insurance salesman and her mother was a librarian.
That is, her family was stable until the age of six. Her father left the family and this left Vikki having to be raised alone by her mother and they had to find a way to survive and make ends meet. Luckily, New York was full of opportunity and the Great Depression was waning and Vikki, even as a child, could find a way to live a better life.
But even life with her mother didn’t last too long. While this wouldn’t have been allowed today, Vikki’s mother felt that she couldn’t take care of her daughter and sent her to upstate New York where she lived in shared housing – having to find a way to survive on her own. This might seem shocking today but this was the norm for many children and families following The Great Depression.
Beginning at the age of 11, she began modeling. She managed to make a decent living from this and decided very early on that modeling would be how she would survive.
She appeared in many print ads and she also entered and often won beauty pageants. At times, there were disappointments due to her age – she tried to become the face of a popular alcohol brand but since she was only 16 at the time, she didn’t get the gig.
Nevertheless, she persisted and she continued to enter as many beauty contests as possible. She also modeled for as many brands as possible and soon enough she could support herself solely on her modeling assignments.
She would eventually transition to films and she had a brief but nevertheless successful career in Hollywood. This brought her more attention and helped catapult her modeling career even further.
While she might not have gotten the gig to sell alcohol due to her age, it was clear that Vikki Dougan had become an adult – mentally – much faster than her peers. From the young age of 11, she had to find a way to support herself. She also ended up growing up much faster in many other ways.
One of the photographers whom she worked with was William Symons and they got married in 1946 when she was only 17 years old.
At age 20, she had her first child and while this often spells death for a model’s career she continued to model and she was determined to become even more successful as a model. She ended up having 2 children and managed to balance her family life and her professional life without any issues.
As she grew more popular as a model, there was now a shifting focus in how models were perceived. Rather than looking at the beauty of their faces, the 50s and 60s were moving away from the conservative attitudes and weren’t afraid to put more emphasis on a woman’s body. It was then when the already popular Vikki Dougan became famous for something that perhaps hadn’t been noticed before.
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VIKKI DOUGAN’S CAREER
Before we get to Vikki Dougan’s later phase in her modeling career, let’s look into her film career.
She appeared in an uncredited appearance as a showgirl in a 1956 film called Back from Eternity – when she was 27 years old. While it was a small role it got her work in many other films. Throughout her career, Vikki Dougan had 13 credits to her name in both films and television shows.
Apart from her debut role in Back from Eternity, her other roles, in order, are as follows: A small role as a receptionist named Marcia Miller in The Great Man – a drama film starring Jose Ferrer; an uncredited role in Hit and Run; a supporting role as Gladys Dunne in The Tunnel of Love; Karen in The Rebel Set; a bit part in Here Come the Jets; a one-time role as Phyllis Ryan in an episode of Bold Venture; a bit part in an episode of Peter Gunn; a small role in an episode of Michael Shayne; a one-time role as Cheryl Carter in an episode of Sea Hunt; playing herself in the feature film musical Hootenanny Hoot; an uncredited bit part in the 1967 feature film Hotel and finally, a role as a Bus Driver in a 1967 episode of The Carol Burnett Show.
As you can see, her work was consistent but in 11 years of working in film and television she didn’t have any significant roles or films or TV episodes – even though she appeared in popular shows such as Peter Gunn and The Carol Burnett Show.
After 1967, she decided not to continue with her acting career and to focus solely on working as a model. Her modeling career had been going on concurrently and it was going from strength to strength – so there was no reason to assume she couldn’t continue to succeed in this field.
In fact, in the 1950s and 1960s, the already famous model was now finding a new way to become a star. At this time, many models were becoming famous for their bodies – specifically their large breasts. One publicity expert, Milton Weiss, decided that Vikki Dougan should also go through the same route as these pin-up models. However, rather than focusing on her breasts, he decided to focus on her backside.
He arranged for her to be photographed in a backless dress. This emphasized her large and curvaceous bottom and this was not something that Americans were used to seeing at the time! It wasn’t long until she earned the nickname “The Back.”
More and more photoshoots were taken with Vikki Dougan in clothing that emphasized her backside and she soon became famous for her backside. This is what sustained her modeling career and what made her stand out from the other models who were more famous for their large bosoms.
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VIKKI DOUGAN REGRETS BEING FAMOUS FOR HER BACKSIDE
Vikki Dougan’s backless dress photoshoots made her such a star that there were literally songs written about her. After this video, give the song “Vikki Dougan” by The Limeliters a listen!
Jessica Rabbit’s look in Who Framed Roger Rabbit was based on Vikki Dougan’s look.
She continued to be photographed for major magazines such as Life and Playboy Magazine. In fact, some of the photographs she took for Playboy Magazine were published without her permission in Cavalier magazine. She eventually sued the magazine for publishing them without her permission.
She had appeared in Playboy Magazine twice – once in 1957 and once in 1962. The photographs that were eventually published in Cavalier were intended for a third issue of Playboy Magazine though she eventually prohibited Playboy from publishing them.
After divorcing William Symon she was briefly married to James Sweeney – a former football player who attendedTexas Christian University. She had relationships with other prominent celebrities including Glenn Ford and Frank Sinatra.
And all this because of her backside which we couldn’t keep our eyes off.
But now, Vikki Dougan is in her nineties and she regrets being famous for her backside.
She felt that she wasn’t able to have a successful career in acting due to getting into contact with some of the wrong men in the industry. She had also turned down a binding contract with Paramount and she later reflected that this would help her acting career even more. She did seem to regret not trying to work in films and television even more. She felt that there wasn’t anything attractive about her backless photoshoots and that the images of her showing off her backside was her playing a part – and didn’t represent how she wanted to show herself to the world.
Vikki Dougan actually got a lot of jealousy from other actresses and models who felt that she was getting more attention than they did. Well, looking back at some of the photos of this beautiful woman, can you really blame anyone?
These are the photos which she is most remembered by. Vikki Dougan Regrets Being Famous for Her Backside – but unfortunately this is what many of us will think of when we think about her. But after watching this video, hopefully you’ll also admire her for her tenacity and how she made a career for herself after being thrust into the adult world when she was only 11.
So, now let’s hear from you:
Are you a fan of Vikki Dougan? Did you know that she regretted being famous for her backside?
Her life has certainly been great and she perhaps owes a lot to her body, but then again – one may wish they were known for something else.
In fact, here’s what we want to know:
Do you think that celebrities who are celebrated for their bodies will always be remembered?
Or are they eventually forgotten and overshadowed by the next attractive celebrity?
