{{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'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).<ref>{{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}}</ref> "Moll" is also used as a euphemism for a woman prostitute<ref>{{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}}</ref> or it may be "from [a] nickname of Mary." <ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date= |title= Gun moll|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/gun%20moll |website=www.etymonline.com |location= |publisher=EtymOnline |access-date=8 March 2025}}</ref>
==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 * Jean Delaney (Crompton) – Tommy Carroll * Phoolan Devi – Indian dacoit, gun moll of Vikram Mallah, later turned into the gang leader after his death * Victoria DiGiorgio Gotti – John Gotti * Judith Exner – an American woman who claimed to be the mistress of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and of Mafia leaders Sam Giancana and John Roselli * Evelyn "Billie" Frechette – John Dillinger * Buda Godman ({{nee|Helen Julia Godman}}; 1888–1945)<ref>[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WGK-WWW "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795–1949"] (database), FamilySearch, March 20, 2015<div style="margin-left:2em">"Helen Daniels," DOD – January 7, 1945; citing Death, Queens, New York, New York City Municipal Archives; FHL microfilm (GS Film No.) 2194201, NYC Queens Reference No. 308 (registration/login may be required, but is free)</div></ref> – John Homer T. ("Dapper Jackie") French, member of the Lou Blonger Gang of Denver. A photo of Buda holding a gun is found in Philip S. Van Cise's ''Fighting the Underworld.''<ref>Van Cise, Philip S. ''Fighting the Underworld''. Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press, (1936) {{OCLC|435739}}</ref> * Catherine Greig – James Whitey Bulger * Maria Victoria Henao – Pablo Escobar * Karen Hill – Henry Hill * Virginia Hill – Bugsy Siegel * Mary Kinder ''(née'' Mary Northern; 1909–1981) – Harry Pierpont * Opal "Mack Truck" Long – Russell Clark * 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, until they were both arrested for kidnapping in 1935. * Mary O'Dare – Raymond Hamilton * Bonnie Parker – Clyde Barrow * Geraldine "Geri" McGee Rosenthal – Frank Rosenthal * Kathryn Thorne ''(née'' Cleo May Brooks; 1904–1985) – George "Machine Gun" Kelly * Helen Gillis ''(née'' Wawzynak; 1908–1987) – George "Baby Face" Nelson * Kiki Roberts - Legs Diamond
==In fiction ==
[[File:Gang Smashers Poster 1938.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The 1938 film ''Gang Smashers'', also known as ''Gun Moll'', is about racketeering in Harlem.]]
In film noir movies about crime, the gangster's moll is usually an attractive, blonde — often a variant of the bimbo stereotype — who may be a former showgirl. The gangster often uses the moll as a "trophy" to boost his status.
Examples include: *The gangster's girlfriend in the 1931 film ''The Public Enemy'' *the moll in the 1967 film ''The St Valentine's Day Massacre'' *Hilda, the gun moll played by Joan Bennett in the 1939 film ''The Housekeeper's Daughter''
==See also== * Femme fatale * Moll (Australian slang) * Pachucas * Ride-or-die chick * 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