1898 American West daguerreotype western photo of cowgirl Miss Annie Oakley holding a rifle. Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Ann Mosey (1860 -1926). She was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Oakley's amazing talent and timely rise to fame led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, which propelled her to become the first American female superstar. Using a .22 calibre rifle at 90 feet, Oakley reputedly could split a playing card edge-on and put five or six more holes in it before it touched the ground.