Leslie Zemeckis Keeps Old Hollywood at Your Fingertips

Leslie Zemeckis has one of the world's largest personal collections of burlesque memorabilia, and now the actress, best-selling author and award-winning documentarian has adapted some of this collection into sexy, burlesque and pinup-inspired emojis, which are available for download exclusively from the App Store.

BurlyQji, the first emoji collection of its kind, was inspired by Zemeckis' passion for burlesque, vintage showgirls, pin-up models and flamingos, and is compatible with messaging applications that support the copying and pasting of images and GIFs. "The line includes dozens of emojis and GIFs drawn from my extensive collection of old photos and memorabilia, from dancers, to retro hairstyles to those pink tropical birds," states Zemeckis. "It is a tongue-in-cheek line that continues to add inspiring images celebrating the countless performers whose lives and talent are indelibly linked to this alluring era of American pop culture."

In television, publishing and digital media, Zemeckis has been documenting the burlesque era for decades. She wrote, produced and directed Behind the Burly Q, a Showtime documentary revealing never-before told stories of women (and men!) from the golden age of burlesque, and later released a companion book featuring additional stories and candid interviews with the original burlesque stars. Her most recent book, the best-selling Goddess of Love Incarnate: The Life of Striptease Lili St. Cyr, chronicles the tragic yet empowering life of history's most legendary burlesque artist. Zemeckis has also created the first and only comprehensive online community for professional burlesque performers.

As a historian of American pop culture, Zemeckis continues bringing to life the stories of inspiring and misunderstood women in burlesque. And until she finishes writing her latest book about sex, scandal and showgirls for Counterpoint Press, her BurlyQji app reveals those intimate stripped-down thoughts with emojis, bringing the stage to your iOS device for only $.99.