Mae West in Art Deco: platinum curls, arched brows and a knowing smile, one jewelled hand at her chin, against gold sunbursts and red and teal chevrons.
After a Paramount Pictures photographer, 1936. AI‑generated.

Mae West

1893–1980

8 genuine quotes, each found in the text, and 2 wrongly credited to West.

American actress, playwright and comedian, a Broadway and Hollywood star of the 1920s and 1930s known for sexually confident characters and double entendres. Many of her best-known lines were spoken in character, in plays and films she wrote or rewrote, and quotation sites also credit her with quips that have no source in her work.

Check a West quote

FrontispieceMade by an image model after a Paramount Pictures photographer’s publicity photograph of Mae West (1936, public domain), in the manner of Art Deco (1910–1939). The likeness is the original’s; this picture is AI‑generated and not historical. The endpaper behind it is an AI‑generated pattern in the same manner.

Genuine West quotes

  1. It’s not the men in your life that counts, it’s the life in your men.

    I’m No Angel (1933), Tira answers reporters after the breach-of-promise suit is settled; approximately 01:23:35 in the copy indexed by Clip.Cafe, said by Tira.

  2. Peel me a grape.

    I’m No Angel (1933), Tira’s instruction to Beulah after an offer to buy her off; approximately 00:48:25 in the copy indexed by Clip.Cafe, said by Tira.

  3. When I’m good, I’m very good. But when I’m bad, I’m better.

    I’m No Angel (1933), Tira’s answer to a compliment on her evening performance; approximately 00:57:49 in the copy indexed by Clip.Cafe, said by Tira.

  4. A curved line is the loveliest distance between two points.

    LIFE, vol. 26, no. 21 (23 May 1949), Mae West feature, sidebar Mae’s Famous Sayings Are Part of Nation’s Folklore, LIFE, 23 May 1949, p. 105, sidebar Mae’s Famous Sayings Are Part of Nation’s Folklore, under ON GEOMETRY.

  5. I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.

    LIFE, vol. 26, no. 21 (23 May 1949), Mae West feature, sidebar Mae’s Famous Sayings Are Part of Nation’s Folklore, LIFE, 23 May 1949, p. 105, sidebar Mae’s Famous Sayings Are Part of Nation’s Folklore, under ON HUMAN NATURE.

  6. I’ve been things and seen places.

    I’m No Angel (1933), Tira’s early conversation with the visitor who introduces himself as Ernest Brown, following his boast about travel, said by Tira.

  7. When women go wrong, men go right after them.

    She Done Him Wrong (1933), Lady Lou reassures Sally Glynn; approximately 00:16:46 in the copy indexed by Clip.Cafe, said by Lady Lou.

  8. Yeah, but you can’t prove it.

    She Done Him Wrong (1933), Lady Lou’s introduction to Serge Stanieff, after he says he has heard much about her, said by Lady Lou.

Quotes wrongly credited to West

  1. You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

    Misattributed. Joe E. Lewis wrote it, not West.

  2. Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.

    Not found. The saying predates the documented credits to Mae West. No primary source for her own use was established here; the attribution remains unsubstantiated.

Paraphrased: West’s thought, in other words

  1. Come up and see me sometime.

    Paraphrase. The idea is in She Done Him Wrong (1933), Lady Lou’s invitation after complimenting Captain Cummings’s uniform; extract begins at the host’s movie offset 00:24:54, said by Lady Lou.

The works we hold

Quotes are looked up word for word in these texts. The number is how many genuine quotes here come from each.

WorkYearGenuine quotes
She Done Him Wrong19332
I’m No Angel19334

Editions and translations

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