27 Annie Oakley Facts About The Wild West's Biggest Badass

From her sharpshooting to her activism, these Annie Oakley facts reveal how she defied the odds to rule the Wild West.

Throughout the often violent history of the Wild West, few women are remembered as the stars of the show. That is, with the exception of professional sharpshooter Annie Oakley.

Presenting herself as harmless and coy (when she could probably shoot your eye out from miles away), Annie Oakley was “America’s Sweetheart” with a big gun and deadly aim.

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The Wild West heroine Annie Oakley was actually born and raised in Ohio and her birth name was Phoebe Ann Moses.Wikimedia Commons

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"Annie," as her siblings called her, lost her father around the age of six and began helping the family by trapping small animals for food.Wikimedia Commons

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She fired her first gun at eight as a means to feed her impoverished family. The unlucky victim was a squirrel outside her home.Wikimedia Commons

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When her mother found out she’d used her father’s gun, she was forbidden to touch it again for eight months.Wikimedia Commons

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At age nine, Annie Oakley and her older sister were sent to the Darke County Infirmary when her mother became too poor to care for them.Wikimedia Commons

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After about a year in the infirmary, she went to be the live-in help for a farm family with a baby. They treated her horribly; later she’d refer to them only as "the wolves."Wikimedia Commons

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She ran away after staying there for two years, finally making it to a train station where a man took pity on her, buying her some food and a ticket home.Wikimedia Commons

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After returning home, she paid off her mother’s mortgage by selling game she’d shot to grocery stores for cash.Wikimedia Commons

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At age 15, Annie Oakley entered a shooting match against professional sharpshooter Frank Butler. She won, and Frank, impressed instead of angry, courted her and they later married.Wikimedia Commons

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Oakley replaced Frank’s ailing partner in his shooting act, and soon she was the star of the show.

Pictured: Oakley demonstrates her famous feat in which she shoots at a target behind her back with the aid of a small hand mirror.Bettmann/Getty Images

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"She reportedly once shot the ashes off the cigarette of Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II — while he was holding it. She later remarked that, had she missed, she could have prevented World War I."Library of Congress

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Her extraordinary marksmanship allowed her to hit playing cards and dimes thrown into the sky.Wikimedia Commons

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Before joining Buffalo Bill Cody’s show, Oakley and her husband were with the Sells Brothers circus.Wikimedia Commons

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She made her own costumes, as she learned to sew at the infirmary as a child.Wikimedia Commons

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A member of the Quaker religion, she made her costumes very conservative and refused to wear makeup.Wikimedia Commons

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Oakley's career flourished nationally in 1887 when she performed with Buffalo Bill Cody at the American Exposition in London. Wikimedia Commons

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Annie Oakley scorned the use of any trickery in shooting shows, instead relying only on her skill.Wikimedia Commons

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In 1884, Oakley met legendary Native American warrior Sitting Bull, who adopted her as a member of the Hunkpapa Lakota and gave her the nickname "Watanya Cicilla," or "Little Sure Shot."American Stock/Getty Images

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In London, Oakley met Queen Victoria, who famously called her a "very clever little girl."Wikimedia Commons

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She did not want to appear dangerous in any way; this is one of the very few photos suggesting she killed live animals.Photo12/UIG via Getty Images

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Oakley competed at Wimbledon — before the London suburb hosted the famed tennis tournament. She was part of the rifle competition at Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee there in 1887.Wikimedia Commons

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Her diminutive stature helped her stand out in the world of sharpshooting — she was only 5 feet tall.Bettmann/Getty Images

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She sued newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst for libel, forcing him to pay her $27,000. Hearst had printed in the Chicago papers that a broke Oakley stole a pair of men’s pants as a means to buy cocaine.Wikimedia Commons

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She was (rather obviously) a proponent of women’s rights to bear arms and to defend their countries via military service.ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images

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She tried to convince the government to let her assemble a team of women sharpshooters to fight in World War I, but no public figure would allow it.Bettmann/Getty Images

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Annie Oakley helped fund the care and education of orphaned children in the United States. Wikimedia Commons

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After Annie Oakley died in 1926 from pernicious anemia at age 66, Frank refused to eat and died 18 days later.Library of Congress

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27 Annie Oakley Facts That Prove She Was The Wild West’s Biggest Badass

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Born Phoebe Ann Mosey to Quakers in rural Ohio on August 13, 1860, Oakley endured a rough childhood in which her father died of pneumonia, leaving her mother then unable to support the children financially. Oakley was then sent to the Darke County Infirmary for the poor before being shipped to an abusive family she later referred to as "the wolves."

The family treated Oakley as if she were a slave and even reportedly locked her out of the house during snowstorms. However, at the age of 12, she ran away and landed back in the infirmary for a short time before reuniting with her mother.

All the while, Annie Oakley's rough childhood put her in a position to fend for herself and learn how to trap and, moreover, how to shoot. Oakley's reputation for astounding feats of marksmanship soon spread throughout the region and she was able to earn money killing game. She even claimed she was able to earn enough to pay off the family farm.

Soon, Oakley's reputation attracted the attention of traveling sharpshooting acts. On Thanksviging Day 1875 (although some dispute that date), Oakley bested famous marksman Frank Butler in a shooting match, cementing her lofty status.

Butler and Oakley married not long after and eventually joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show (alongside the likes of Lakota leader Sitting Bull). Oakley, as she was now calling herself, then saw her shooting career grow to even greater heights, and the rest is history (and included in the gallery above).

All in all, Oakley (a.k.a. "Little Sure Shot") parlayed her gift for handling and firing guns into a career while serving as an inspiration for women who scoffed (either inwardly or outwardly) at traditional pioneer roles. Today, Annie Oakley's legacy as a cultural icon lives on, with films, books, and even a well-known Broadway musical all dedicated to the huge impression that she left on United States history.

Next, see rare footage of Annie Oakley in action thanks to this Edison Manufacturing Co. film from 1894:

After this look at Annie Oakley, check out some captivating photos of life in the Wild West. Then, read up on the era's largely-forgotten black cowboys.