**Veronica Lake**, stage name of Constance Ockelman (1922-1973), was an American actress who became a 1940s icon.

Famous for her "peek-a-boo" hairstyle (a lock of hair covering one eye), blonde and seductive, she often embodied roles of mysterious, icy yet vulnerable women, ideal for the film noir genre. She formed an unforgettable cinematic pairing with Alan Ladd.

Among her most notable films are the comedy masterpiece *Sullivan's Travels* (directed by Preston Sturges, 1941), and the noirs *This Gun for Hire* (1942), *The Glass Key* (1942), and *The Blue Dahlia* (1946). She also starred in *I Married a Witch* (1942). Her style and magnetic presence helped define an era of Hollywood cinema.