Who was Clara Bow before Taylor Swift named a song after her?

Who was Clara Bow before Taylor Swift named a song after her?

Taylor Swift’s new album includes a song called Clara Bow. News4’s Tommy McFly went to the Library of Congress to learn more about the 1920s actress.

Taylor Swift dropped the tracklist for her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, on Monday night, launching a wave of speculation about the record’s themes. The final track, titled simply “Clara Bow,” sent the internet down a rabbit hole about the song’s potential meaning.

Swift is no stranger to references to Old Hollywood in her work, including the mid-century aesthetic of the “Wildest Dreams” music video and her use of the lyric, “Burton to this Taylor” on “Ready For It,” in reference to the romance of stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. But this is the first time Swift has used a classic film star as the title of a song.

So, who is Clara Bow anyway?

She was one of the biggest stars of the silent era, defining the 1920s flapper image alongside the likes of Louise Brooks and Joan Crawford. Though perhaps no one personified the Roaring Twenties quite like Bow with her close-cropped short hair, her cupid’s bow red-lipped mouth, and her penchant for playing emancipated women. To this day, Bow is considered an icon of sexual freedom for women. But there’s much more behind that party girl image.