Chocolate cake girl revealed!
The New York Times article on the fatosphere has generated a lot of buzz over both the idea of fat acceptance and for this site in particular. Sadly, it has done little to clear up the many stereotypes about fat and body image for some obstinate people (which I will address in a follow-up post soon), but has fortunately served to provide an “Aha!” moment for many more people who struggle with relationships with their bodies.
The positive article and great fallout has been absolutely fabulous, but I have another exciting element to the story to share. Shortly after the article debuted, I was contacted by a woman who says she is the little girl featured in the header graphic above and reprinted in the Times – the one enjoying that delicious hunk of chocolate cake – who was absolutely flabbergasted that the 1954 image is still in circulation. And featured in the New York Times, no less!
A flurry of emails ensued and I was able to call Barbara Siegal, the now 61-year-old former child model featured in the 1954 Pillsbury ad last night. She was alerted to the Times story via an excited call from her equally flabbergasted sister around 8 a.m. that day. Here’s her story.
Barbara was 8-years-old in 1954, already an experienced child model who had begun modeling at the age of 4 and later made the transition into acting on live television and in television commercials. Her sister also went on to become a child actress.
“My father thought I was just beautiful,” said Barbara. “So, I started modeling. Mine was a wholesome world. My mother always said it had to be fun.”
Barbara lived in Brooklyn at the time and modeling meant trips to the Big Apple, where she and her mother would turn the experience into an adventure. She’s appeared in ads for Franco-American spaghetti, Jell-o and pudding ads. She served as the model for the Betsy McCall doll ads and, in an article she wrote for Doll magazine, described what it was like “Being Betsy McCall.” Legend has it that the Betsy McCall doll was modeled after her. And of course, she appeared in the classic 1954 Pillsbury ad gracing this site.
One particular Franco-American ad of Barbara featured as a set of quadruplets even won an award for design in a pre-Photoshop era, where such design illusions were a novelty.
Later, Barbara appeared in live television shows like Kraft Television Theatre, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Play of the Week, and most recently, Law and Order and Guiding Light.
The New York native raised three children while doing commercials for Pampers, Pillsbury, Jello-, Dreft detergent, and others. Last year she appeared off Broadway in The Last Barbeque. Barbara lectures on cruise ships about the craft of acting and her experiences and last May, she lectured with Elder Hostel at New York’s Lincoln Center celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of The Most Happy Fella, a Broadway play she appeared in at the age of nine.
Barbara’s also appeared on Broadway in The Rope Dancers, A Clearing in the Wood and The Playroom. She now divides her time between teaching, writing, lecturing and spending time with her three grandsons, Zach, Jason and Eli.
Barbara remembers the Pillsbury cake ad above very distinctly. She had lost her two front teeth and had to wear a set of false teeth that “tasted awful.” For the ad, she made $10 an hour and of course, got to indulge in delicious cake she remembers enjoying very much.
“I’m sure that I did,” said Barbara, with a laugh. “You can see by the look in my eyes, I did. Who wouldn’t want to be the kid who looked like that?”
Barbara continued acting until as she says, the profession “sort of stopped me.” The New York native went on to pursue a career in teaching and raised a family.
“I never got tall and was never skinny enough to be a Seventeen model,” said Barbara, who wasn’t then and isn’t now overweight.
Any worries I had that Barbara would object to the use of her image on a site promoting body image and healthy relationships with food were quickly put to rest. Barbara admits that when she first heard the provocative title of the blog, she was apprehensive about what the site promoted.
But after reading through the blog and speaking with me – in which I explained how I felt the ad epitomized the sheer delight of food, even foods we commonly associate as “bad” foods – the grandmother assured me she had no qualms about her image being promoted here.
“I do agree with your message,” said Barbara. “And I do agree chocolate cake is very good.”
Click to Bookmark
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 11:04 am
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 11:30 am
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 11:39 am
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
posted on January 24th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
posted on January 25th, 2008 at 7:47 am
posted on January 27th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
posted on January 31st, 2008 at 10:29 pm