Laya Raki

Billed as "the black-haired volcano", sloe-eyed Laya Raki made international headlines in the 1950s, both on and off the screen. She was born Brunhilde Marie Joerns near Brunswick in Germany, the daughter of a German vaudevillian and circus artiste who earned his living with magic acts and acrobatics. Her Javanese mother left when she was five years old. Life was tough in the immediate aftermath of the war in occupied Germany and seventeen-year old Laya made ends meet by cashing in on the fad for erotic cabaret by performing striptease, initially at the Monte Carlo club in Berlin. With a solid background in ballet and having followed in her father's footsteps as an acrobat, she found herself perfectly suited to performing all manner of exotic and alluring dances. She was even credited with introducing the Cuban mambo to German audiences. With her long dark mane and high cheekbones, sultry and curvaceous Laya became an overnight success and photographed well as a pin-up. In 1948, she ad