https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_digger
Etymology and usage
The Gold Digger (Judge, 24 Jul 1920)
The term gold-digger was a slang term that has its roots among chorus girls and sex workers in the early 20th century. In print, the term can be found in Rex Beach's 1911 book, The Ne'er-Do-Well, and in the 1915 memoir My Battles with Vice by Virginia Brooks.[2] The Oxford Dictionary[clarification needed] and Random House's Dictionary of Historical Slang state the term is distinct for women because they were much more likely to need to marry a wealthy man in order to achieve or maintain a level of socioeconomic status.
The term gold digger rose in usage after the popularity of Avery Hopwood's play The Gold Diggers in 1919. Hopwood first heard the term gold digger in a conversation with Ziegfeld performer Kay Laurell.
As an indication on how new the slang term was, Broadway producers urged him to change the title because they feared that the audience would think that the play was about mining and the Gold Rush.