Gretchen Mol will play photographer's model 'Bettie Page', in director Mary Harron's "THE BALLAD OF BETTIE PAGE". Written by Harron and Guinevere Turner, the biopic is expected to begin shooting the first week of April in New York.

The real Bettie Page, who went from lingerie model to obscurity, is still alive today, having challenged the conservative 1950's as the dark-haired alternative to the Marilyn Monroe pin-up blonde, but after a failed marriage, abandoned the business and dedicated her life to religion.

A recent "E" special revealed Bettie Page is now a feisty, old woman, with no regrets about her past life and thrilled by the huge pop following that has blossomed around her sexy, youthful image.