Betty Willis

Willis' Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, completed in 1959. Betty Jane Willis (née Whitehead; May 20, 1923 – April 19, 2015) was an American visual artist and graphic designer. She is best known for having been the designer of the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, and has been attributed to being an influencer in defining modern Las Vegas' visual image.

Biography Willis born on May 20, 1923, in Overton, Nevada, the daughter of Stephen R. Whitehead, the first assessor of Clark County, Nevada, She went to Los Angeles in 1942 where she attended art school. Her signs are drawn by hand and the sign that she designed for the Moulin Rouge Hotel was her own hand lettering inspired by French-style lettering that she studied. Willis continued to design signs until she retired at the age of 77. The sign appeared on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.