Mae West's career as a screenwriter grew out of her background in vaudeville and her desire to fashion a distinctive identity as a sex symbol. By 1919 she was writing many of her vaudeville sketches, and her interest in writing increased as she realized that the sexy persona could be the source of "much good material for drama, satire, and some kind of ironic comment on the war of the sexes." West turned to screenwriting to provide material that would reinforce the image she had created for herself.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, West was the first of three children of John and Matilda West. Her father, a former heavyweight boxer, provided a good living for his family, and West's parents gave her nearly everything she asked for. Still, West and her father were never close; she felt alienated from him because of his stern manner and was put...