Pin Up Models: Elyse Knox

• Professional Name: Elyse Knox
• Birth Name: Elsie Kornbrath
• Birthdate: December 14, 1917
• Occupation: Actress, Model, and Fashion Designer
• Nationality: American

Elyse Knox was a B actress and WWII pin up model. Her career only really lasted during the 1940's due to her decided to be a housewife.

Elyse Knox was born Elsie Kornbrath on December 14, 1917 in Hartford, Connecticut. Knox was the daughter of one time Secretary of the Navy, William Franklin Knox. She initially wanted to get into the field of fashion design, which is what she studied at Traphagen School of Fashion.

It was actually her career in fashion design that helped her enter the modeling world when Vogue picked her up after seeing her model some of her own products. This eventually allowed her to enter into the acting world.

Knox worked for a few different film companies, but ultimately settled with Universal in the 40's. It was also during the 40's that she appeared as a pin up model for YANK magazine, a publication by the US military.

In 1942 she married her first husband, photographer Paul Hesse. Hesse had been the one to shoot many of her modeling shots. Their marriage was short lived and ended almost exactly a year after they were wed.

In 1944 she married her former boyfriend, Tom Harmon. Harmon had been a star football player, having won the Heisman trophy in 1940 and also played for the Los Angeles Rams for a year. He was also a WWII hero, having received a Purple Heart due to his plane having been shot down over Japanese territory. The parachute he used to escape his shot down plane was later used as part of his wife's wedding dress.

Elyse Knox ended up becoming the mother of an acting family dynasty, most notably through her son, Mark Harmon (NCIS star). Her other children include Kristin Nelson, wife of Ricky Nelson (son of Ozzie and Harriet) and Kelly Harmon.

Knox never saw her career take off into a huge success, but her modeling shoots can still be found across the internet and by pin up model fans.