Los Angeles, and particularly Hollywood, have long been recognized as exceptional cities where people battle for fame and fortune.
Some succeed, while others fail. Of course, there are a variety of routes to fame and a large number of people who have achieved legendary status.
Angelyne, often known as the “Billboard Queen,” is one such person.
The enigmatic woman first appeared on billboards in the Los Angeles region in the 1980s and soon rose to fame. Nevertheless, Angelyne’s life and professional history are still rather obscure. Her true identity, as well as her name, had long been sought after.
It seemed to have ultimately ended at this point.
You now know everything there is to know about the storied “Billboard Queen,” Angelyne.
A lot of people desire to be famous. All aspiring musicians, actresses, dancers, and entertainers prefer to envision bright futures for themselves. Hollywood is the most likely location to realize that goal.
The reputation of Los Angeles as a city where dreams come true is well-deserved. On the other hand, “The City of Angels” may also be a place where hopes are brutally crushed. It might be challenging to succeed in the entertainment industry.
Blood, sweat, and tears are necessary, as well as significant sacrifice, if you want to reach the pinnacle. In order to give oneself the best chance, one must be willing to do anything. However, a select handful have managed to become famous in unconventional ways.
One woman discovered themselves on billboards all around the Los Angeles region in the 1980s. She was known as the “bombshell billboard princess,” frequently appeared in minimal clothing, and only wore pink.
Most likely, if you ever traveled to Los Angeles between the 1980s and the 2000s, you saw her face. Even now, very few people are aware of Angelyne’s true identity. Nevertheless, she became a legend in Los Angeles.
She has a long list of tales, ranging from dating Madonna to communicating with Marilyn Monroe through a medium.
So who exactly is Angelyne? And how does she appear right now? Here is everything you need to know about the first “Billboard Queen,” who advertised only herself.
A billboard in Los Angeles in February 1984 would forever alter lives. A pretty blonde woman in pink was sitting on it, pouting and looking out across Sunset Boulevard.
The woman in the photo, who goes by the name of Angelyne, needed nothing more to get people talking. Overnight, there was an explosion. But from where exactly did she come?
The legend of the billboard woman has a convoluted history, to be sure. She is the subject of many different stories, and more are added every year.
Additionally, she has never used her own name, preferring to go by Angelyne alone. Given that, it comes as no surprise that she has led a completely secretive life.
In other interviews, Angelyne disclosed her Midwest origins. She has previously indicated that she is from Idaho.
She claimed to have been raised by foster parents in Idaho after being orphaned as a small kid when she spoke with the Los Angeles Times in 2001. This wasn’t quite accurate, though.
As a result of not receiving any attention as a youngster, according to Angelyne, she yearned for it as an adult.
I relate to Marilyn Monroe here because I didn’t think they were good parents, she remarked. She was also thrown around as a child.
She stated that she was between the ages of 28 and 32 in a 1995 Boston Globe article.
But in 2017, Gary Baum of The Hollywood Reporter made a completely new aspect of Angelyne’s life public.
Baum claims that Renee Tami Goldberg, who goes by the name Angelyne, was born on October 2, 1950, in Poland. She was the daughter of Polish Jews who had made it to Israel during World War II after escaping the Chmielnik Ghetto.
These details allow us to estimate Angelyne’s current age at 71.
Before her family moved to New York, she reportedly lived in the ultra-orthodox Hasidic enclave of Bnei Brak outside of Tel Aviv. They initially resided in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, but when Angelyne was just 14 years old, her mother passed away, and she and her father relocated to Panorama City in the San Fernando Valley. She attended high school there.
In paperwork from Ventura County, filed in 2016, a section of Angelyne’s name change from Renee Goldberg to Angelyne Llyne can be seen. These documents were also made available by The Hollywood Reporter.
However, is it true? It’s not, according to Scott Hening, Angelyne’s assistant and longtime friend.
Every few years, this stuff comes up, and it just seems crazy, he said.
“This 300-pound black woman who claimed to be her mother was my favorite of all of them. I’m your twin sister, I’m your long-lost brother. Put it down to the Hollywood lifestyle. Renee Goldberg is a name I’ve never heard of. It’s absurd and funny.
He continued, “I’m not saying the paperwork [from the name change] isn’t legitimate. I’m claiming that it isn’t her. I receive emails from another Scott Hennig, a Texas-based karate expert. They believe that to be me. There are many girls named Angelyne throughout the world. I’m not sure what to say to you. Who knows how authentic this historical information, dating back to World War II?
Her life has a richer history than just being depicted on billboards in Los Angeles. She claimed to be a member of bands in the LA region, but it appears that they were merely using her for publicity.
In a 1995 interview, she stated that “people got interested – not in the band, but in me.”
They desired me. They began questioning me. That is how it took place. It’s what I do. I’m the Queen of Billboard.
What transpired when Angelyne’s first billboard was placed on Sunset Boulevard? Of course, there will be more billboards and phone lines.
However, what was she promoting? What was one to do? A show for her to perform? maybe a job with a company?
Nobody truly knows right now, and Angelyne’s mystery is still very much alive. It’s undeniable that the ads catapulted her to fame right away.
It seemed to go BOOM! But being enormous is just normal to me. I prosper greatly. I’m fine at 100 feet. Angelyne stated earlier in May, “Wherever I came from, whatever is essential to me, I was born with it.
Requests “from regular fans, wicked ones, X-rated authors, TV shows, newspapers, films” soon started to surface. The rumors about her gradually grew more and more heated. Who exactly was she?
My husband is a sheikh. I might be a man. Everything was paid for by my hubby. I received the entire estate of a deceased gay man. Every two years, a new Angelyne emerges. Being a prostitute, I. I was mysterious,” she continued.
Despite living in a city that constantly seeks to reinvent itself, Angelyne developed into a legend in Los Angeles. She frequently navigated the streets of LA in her pink Corvette. She started working in other industries after the success with the billboards.
Angelyne even produced a number of music albums and singles that were made available. She has also acted in movies like The Frisco Kid and Earth Girls Are Easy.
“The Billboard Queen” has more than 200 billboards all around the city eleven years after the first one went up.
In a 1987 interview, she remarked, “Being renowned for nothing is so much pleasure.”
“I had to keep quiet at that time since others wouldn’t understand. I’m not famous for nothing; my essence is what makes me famous. I’m inspiring the globe while perched atop a pink cloud. I’m not like other renowned people since I’m just connected to Angelyne. I don’t do recommendations. For Angelyne, I want to present a spotless image.
Without anyone truly knowing who she was, Angelyne not only became a tremendous star, but her admirers really admired her. According to a 2007 Los Angeles Times article, Angelyne charged $5 for postcards of herself, $10 for autographed ones, $25 for large posters, and $35 for autographed ones.
For $45, you could purchase a sizable poster that was autographed and bearing a “genuine lip print.”
A glow-in-the-dark Angelyne necklace and autographed bras and underwear were also apparently marketed by Angelyne. She also stated that her fan club had “hundreds of thousands of members, or something like that.”
She is the subject of far too many rumors for us to list them all here. Some of them suggest that she had dated Madonna and Charlie Sheen. She is “followed everywhere she goes by ardent fans and Japanese visitors,” the Los Angeles Times said in 2022.
Angelyne was even said to be considering a career in politics in the early 2000s. When she ran for governor in 2003, she finished 135th overall, in 28th place. “We’ve had Gray, we’ve had Brown, now it’s time for some blond and pink,” was Angelyne’s campaign anthem.
She previously told the San Diego Union-Tribune that Gavin Newson, the governor of California, had to be removed from office because “Angelyne can do better.”
She also added that if Angelye were elected governor, she would prioritize helping the homeless.
As a little child of three, Angelyne claimed, “I understood that I could run the world and do a terrific job.”
So why California not? Governor is a piece of cake for me because I am already Queen of the Universe.
The estimated value of Angelyne’s wealth is $500,000.
Emmy Rossum plays the illustrious “Billboard Queen” in the television drama Angelyne, which Peacock Original published earlier this year.
However, Angelyne herself didn’t enjoy the show. Angelyne announced that she is making her own movie, Angelyne: Billboard Queen, suggesting that she would rather share her entire tale.
She claims it will clarify what transpired to her when she was a child and how she succeeded in Los Angeles.
“I was making plans for a movie, but I wasn’t in a rush. I have 100,000 photos and a lot of video. You’re going to adore my movie! It’s going to change you. It’s like The Godfather of movies,” said Angelyne.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Angelyne often be spotted zipping around Los Angeles in her pink Corvette. She still acts in the same manner today and may be seen on billboards all over the city.