Presented by Paramount as a sultry blond kitten, who leered and pouted behind a peek-a-boo bang, Veronica Lake was a star before her first film was released.

Veronica was chosen by director Preston Sturges as the leading lady in his semi-autobiographical film Sullivan's Travels (1941), which Lake herself considered her best performance. In 1942, she was teamed with Alan Ladd in This Gun for Hire, the first of several films they made together. Life magazine named Lake the top box-office star of 1943. Her other notable film roles included The Blue Dahlia (1946) and The Glass Key (1942), both examples of classic Hollywood film noir, and the comedy classic I Married a Witch (1942).

Her films with directors Preston Sturges and Rene Clair are regarded today as classics of film comedy, and her films with Alan Ladd are among the best of 1940's film noir. This classic publicity still from Paramount captures Veronica's appeal, which made her America's favorite star in the early war years.