Model. Born to George Dexter Collett and Martha Elizabeth Falkenstein in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1915, Lorraine, better known as her middle name Collett was attending high school and working as a seeder and packer part-time for the Griffin & Skelley Fruit Packing Company in Fresno, California for $15 a week. That May she was spotted by Leroy Payne, one of the executives of the raisin cooperative, while drying her curly brown hair and wearing her mother's red bonnet in the backyard of her family's home. She was hired to promote the California Associated Raisin Co. by handing out free samples at the Panama-Pacific Exposition. Her likeness was trademarked and began appearing on raisin packaging in 1916. Use of Collett's image was so successful in promoting its products that by 1920 the company adopted "Sun-Maid Raisin Growers' Association" as its new name. Backed by an aggressive marketing push throughout the 1920s, Sun-Maid managed to triple American consumption of raisins by the end of the decade. In 1974, Collett was presented with a commemorative plaque by Sun-Maid's president at a ceremony where she presented Scafford's original portrait and the red bonnet to the company in exchange for $1700. Sun-Maid executives donated Collett's bonnet to the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 on the occasion of the company's 75th anniversary. Collett moved to Hollywood to try to become an actress. She landed a small part in The Trail of the Lonesome Pine before returning to Fresno. There, she ran a restaurant for two years and later converted a former hospital into a nursing home. She retired as a nurse and died at the age of 90. She is buried in the lot with her parents and some siblings; the grave is unmarked.
Model. Born to George Dexter Collett and Martha Elizabeth Falkenstein in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1915, Lorraine, better known as her middle name Collett was attending high school and working as a seeder and packer part-time for the Griffin & Skelley Fruit Packing Company in Fresno, California for $15 a week. That May she was spotted by Leroy Payne, one of the executives of the raisin cooperative, while drying her curly brown hair and wearing her mother's red bonnet in the backyard of her family's home. She was hired to promote the California Associated Raisin Co. by handing out free samples at the Panama-Pacific Exposition. Her likeness was trademarked and began appearing on raisin packaging in 1916. Use of Collett's image was so successful in promoting its products that by 1920 the company adopted "Sun-Maid Raisin Growers' Association" as its new name. Backed by an aggressive marketing push throughout the 1920s, Sun-Maid managed to triple American consumption of raisins by the end of the decade. In 1974, Collett was presented with a commemorative plaque by Sun-Maid's president at a ceremony where she presented Scafford's original portrait and the red bonnet to the company in exchange for $1700. Sun-Maid executives donated Collett's bonnet to the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 on the occasion of the company's 75th anniversary. Collett moved to Hollywood to try to become an actress. She landed a small part in The Trail of the Lonesome Pine before returning to Fresno. There, she ran a restaurant for two years and later converted a former hospital into a nursing home. She retired as a nurse and died at the age of 90. She is buried in the lot with her parents and some siblings; the grave is unmarked.
Bio by: Shock
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