I was a famous poster girl!

HER FACE WAS EVERYWHERE, BUT SHE ONLY GOT PAID $20!

- Fleur Guthrie

She’s the image behind an enduring World War II recruitment poster that was declared an American icon. She’s also probably the only person still alive who remembers its creation, says Weslee D’Audney, who over the years has found her famous face reprinted on everything from tote bags to face masks.

Chatting to the Weekly from her retirement village north of Auckland, the remarkable 95-year-old recalls how she was propelled into the spotlight nearly 80 years ago when she was a pre-med student in New York City.

“Pearl Harbour had just been bombed and President Roosevelt called his cabinet a couple of days later to ask them for a prioritised list of things that were most urgently needed to fight and win this war,” tells Weslee. “After manpower and arms, third on the list was the need for nurses because they were anticipating a very long, bloody war. It was decided the best thing to do was a poster campaign to recruit nurses.

“William Ritter, a commercial photographer I had previously worked with on modelling shoots, called me to his studio and asked me to don a student nurse’s uniform. I was paid $20 for a two-hour sitting and he said to me, ‘This is going to be big.’ That’s all I knew about it!”

There were one million posters produced – showcasing her beautiful image with bright red lips and arched eyebrows – and sent to every high school, university, library and post office in the US.