# Gun moll > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gun_moll > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gun_moll.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_moll > Source revision: 1319756913 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Female companion of a male criminal}} ''{{About|2=the 1938 film|3=Gang Smashers{{!}}''Gang Smashers''}}''A '''gun moll''' is early 1900s slang for the female companion, girlfriend or mistress of a male professional criminal or mob leader. Some gun molls were themselves gangsters and they were accomplices in criminal activities.[[File:BonnieParkerCigar1933.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[Bonnie Parker](/source/Bonnie_Parker)'s pose with a cigar and a revolver cultivated her portrayal in the press as a 'cigar-smoking gun moll'.]] ==Terminology== They may also be called a '''gangster moll''', '''gangster's moll''' or '''mob moll'''. "Gun" was British slang for thief, derived from Yiddish ''ganef'' ([גנבֿ](/source/%3Awiktionary%3A%D7%92%D7%A0%D7%91%D6%BF)).{{citation|url=https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=gun+moll|title=gun moll|work=The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company|year=2019}} "Moll" is also used as a euphemism for a woman prostitute{{citation|url=https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=moll|title=moll|work=The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company|year=2019}} or it may be "from [a] nickname of Mary." {{cite web |author= |date= |title= Gun moll|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/gun%20moll |website=www.etymonline.com |location= |publisher=EtymOnline |access-date=8 March 2025}} ==Historical examples== thumb|Helen Julia Godman – Passport photo taken in 1919 Notable gun molls (and the men they were associated with) include: * Beulah Baird – [Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd](/source/Pretty_Boy_Floyd) * Jean Delaney (Crompton) – [Tommy Carroll](/source/Tommy_Carroll_(criminal)) * [Phoolan Devi](/source/Phoolan_Devi) – Indian [dacoit](/source/dacoit), gun moll of Vikram Mallah, later turned into the gang leader after his death * Victoria DiGiorgio Gotti – [John Gotti](/source/John_Gotti) * [Judith Exner](/source/Judith_Exner) – an American woman who claimed to be the mistress of [U.S. president](/source/President_of_the_United_States) [John F. Kennedy](/source/John_F._Kennedy) and of [Mafia](/source/American_Mafia) leaders [Sam Giancana](/source/Sam_Giancana) and [John Roselli](/source/John_Roselli) * [Evelyn "Billie" Frechette](/source/Evelyn_Frechette) – [John Dillinger](/source/John_Dillinger) * [Buda Godman](/source/Buda_Godman) ({{nee|Helen Julia Godman}}; 1888–1945)[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WGK-WWW "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795–1949"] (database), [FamilySearch](/source/FamilySearch), March 20, 2015
"Helen Daniels," [DOD](/source/Date_of_death) – January 7, 1945; citing Death, [Queens, New York](/source/Queens%2C_New_York), [New York City Municipal Archives](/source/New_York_City_Municipal_Archives); [FHL](/source/Family_History_Library) microfilm ([GS](/source/Genealogical_Society_of_Utah) Film No.) 2194201, NYC Queens Reference No. 308 (registration/login may be required, but is free)
 – John Homer T. ("Dapper Jackie") French, member of the [Lou Blonger](/source/Lou_Blonger) Gang of Denver. A photo of Buda holding a gun is found in Philip S. Van Cise's ''Fighting the Underworld.''[Van Cise, Philip S.](/source/Philip_S._Van_Cise) ''Fighting the Underworld''. Cambridge, MA: [The Riverside Press](/source/Riverside_Publishing), (1936) {{OCLC|435739}} * Catherine Greig – James [Whitey Bulger](/source/Whitey_Bulger) * Maria Victoria Henao – [Pablo Escobar](/source/Pablo_Escobar) * Karen Hill – [Henry Hill](/source/Henry_Hill) * [Virginia Hill](/source/Virginia_Hill) – [Bugsy Siegel](/source/Bugsy_Siegel) * [Mary Kinder](/source/Mary_Kinder) ''(née'' Mary Northern; 1909–1981) – [Harry Pierpont](/source/Harry_Pierpont) * Opal "Mack Truck" Long – [Russell Clark](/source/Russell_Clark_(criminal)) * [Edna Murray](/source/Edna_Murray) – wife of "Diamond Joe" Sullivan, who was executed for murder in 1924. She then married Jack Murray, who was imprisoned for 25 years in 1925. She then lived with [Volney Davis](/source/Volney_Davis), until they were both arrested for kidnapping in 1935. * Mary O'Dare – [Raymond Hamilton](/source/Raymond_Hamilton) * [Bonnie Parker](/source/Bonnie_Parker) – [Clyde Barrow](/source/Clyde_Barrow) * [Geraldine "Geri" McGee Rosenthal](/source/Geri_McGee) – [Frank Rosenthal](/source/Frank_Rosenthal) * [Kathryn Thorne](/source/Kathryn_Kelly) ''(née'' Cleo May Brooks; 1904–1985) – [George "Machine Gun" Kelly](/source/Machine_Gun_Kelly_(gangster)) * Helen Gillis ''(née'' Wawzynak; 1908–1987) – [George "Baby Face" Nelson](/source/Baby_Face_Nelson) * [Kiki Roberts](/source/Marion_Roberts) - [Legs Diamond](/source/Legs_Diamond) ==In fiction == [[File:Gang Smashers Poster 1938.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The 1938 film ''[Gang Smashers](/source/Gang_Smashers)'', also known as ''Gun Moll'', is about racketeering in Harlem.]] In [film noir](/source/film_noir) movies about [crime](/source/Crime_film), the gangster's moll is usually an attractive, blonde — often a variant of the bimbo stereotype — who may be a former [showgirl](/source/showgirl). The gangster often uses the moll as a "[trophy](/source/Trophy_wife)" to boost his [status](/source/Status_symbol). Examples include: *The gangster's girlfriend in the 1931 film ''[The Public Enemy](/source/The_Public_Enemy)'' *the moll in the 1967 film ''[The St Valentine's Day Massacre](/source/The_St._Valentine's_Day_Massacre_(film))'' *Hilda, the gun moll played by [Joan Bennett](/source/Joan_Bennett) in the 1939 film ''[The Housekeeper's Daughter](/source/The_Housekeeper's_Daughter)'' ==See also== * [Femme fatale](/source/Femme_fatale) * [Moll](/source/Moll_(slang)) (Australian slang) * [Pachucas](/source/Pachucas) * [Ride-or-die chick](/source/Ride-or-die_chick) * [Nightclub singer](/source/Nightclub_singer) ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== * {{Wiktionary-inline}} Category:Organized crime members by role Category:Organized crime-related lists Category:Yiddish words and phrases Category:Slang terms for women Category:Female gangsters Category:Stock characters --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gun moll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_moll) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_moll?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.