Jane Wyman Johnny Belinda 1949

Jane Wyman as Belinda McDonald in Johnny Belinda
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 1949

Jane Wyman Johnny Belinda 1949
Jane Wyman Johnny Belinda 1949

SEX WORKER ROLE

Saloon Girl in Bengal Tiger 1936

Character Is A Saloon Girl

Jane Wyman in Bengal Tiger 1936
Jane Wyman in Bengal Tiger 1936

Jane Wyman once famously said, “I simply refused to play a prostitute, a drug addict. Non-exposure is better than appearing in the wrong thing.” Remember, she made these statements during a time when scripts were plentiful and she was at the pinnacle of her profession. However, in the initial phases of an actress’s career, seize any opportunity that presents itself. To her credit, she never took on roles such as prostitute or drug addict. However, she did play a saloon girl in the 1936 film “Benegal Tiger.”

As written about in the Linda Hunt entry, Saloon Girls kept lonely men drinking by keeping them company. The more the men drank, the more money they made as they worked on commission. Some Saloon Girls even turned tricks, with the Saloon getting a kickback.

Jane Wyman 1936
Jane Wyman In Burlesque Wear 1955

To read more about this prostitute role & other Oscar-winning actresses playing a hooker, please continue perusing

Oscar Hookers

If you know of this actress playing more than one prostitute role, please tweet to me and let me know! I’ll gladly add it to the page here. My Twitter handle is at the top of this page.

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