Born on 6 August 1911 in Jamestown, New York, Lucille Ball became the nation’s sweetheart as a talented actress and comedienne during the 1950s and 60s. Driven to the stage at a young age, Lucy dropped out of high school to pursue an acting career in New York City. When she struggled to become an actress, she took up modeling and was selected to be a Chesterfield Cigarette Girl and a Goldwyn Girl in 1933, this path which led her to Los Angeles. It was in Hollywood that Lucy finally made her way onto the silver screen, even co-starring with Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers in Stage Door (1937). When Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer began using Technicolor cameras, she dyed her hair red, a feature which would become her trademark.

Sharp-witted and with excellent timing, Lucy quickly rose as a star in Hollywood; after she married Desi Arnaz in 1940, the two became one of the most popular couples in the country. They established their own production company, Desilu Productions, in 1950 and soon began their world-famous TV series, “I Love Lucy,” in 1951. The show ran for seven seasons, during which time it earned five Emmy Awards and earned more than twenty nominations. Even after the series – and her marriage to Desi – ended, Lucy was a popular television and film character and eventually bought Arnaz’s portion of Desilu Prods. Among her other notable TV shows were “The Lucy Show” (1962-8) and “Here’s Lucy” (1968-1973). Over the course of her fifty year career, Lucy appeared in more than 80 movies and hundreds of television episodes.

Lucille Ball passed away on 26 April 1989 after a career that established her as brilliant and beautiful legacy in the television and film industry.