In 1944, Barbara Stanwyck (1907-1990) was listed as America's highest-paid woman (reported to be earning $400,000 per annum). Born Ruby Stevens, Stanwyck moved to Hollywood aged 21 after working as a show-girl throughout her late teens. She combined glamour and poise with a feisty, independent spirit that reflected her off-screen temperament. Throughout the 1930s, she flirted with her reputation as something of a 'bad-girl' without ever quite crossing the line. The roles she was given during this decade played on this fact and films like Ten Cents A Dance, and the more serious The Bitter Tea Of General Yen, saw her in sexy, independent roles.