Montage of Clara Bow~The "IT"Girl~ Sex Symbol of the 1920s br Clara Gordon Bow (July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. Her acting artistry and high spirits made her the premier flapper and the film It (1927) made her world famous as the "It-girl". Bow came to personify the "roaring twenties" and is described as its leading sex symbol.