While Sarah Bernhardt ruled the stages of Europe, Lillian Russell dominated the theatre of America during the Belle Epoque. She was actress, singer, and sex symbol supreme of the era, with a flamboyance of style to match her astonishing figure - in those days, a well-padded shape was considered the ne plus ultra of feminine sexiness - and her eventful personal life. She did much to make opera gloves popular in America (for instance, she drew attention just by pedaling up and down New York's Fifth Avenue on a golden bicycle given to her by longtime suitor Diamond Jim Brady, wearing one of her chic outfits and spectacular shoulder-length white kid gloves), and in this gallery we see some of her poses that have survived to the present day.
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