Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball was born August 9, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. Her parents were Henry Durrell Ball and Desiree 'DeDe' Eve Hunt. Henry was of Scottish descent whereas Desiree was of French, Irish and English descent. The family was Baptist and the genealogy could be traced back to one of the earliest settlers in the colonies. Lucille has always been very proud of her roots and heritage. Henry Ball passed away when Lucille was very young; she was brought up by her mother and grand-parents. Her grandfather was a connoisseur of theatre and was instrumental in introducing Lucille Ball to theatre. Lucille was initially rejected by film-makers and she got discouraged. However, in 1932, she had some success as a fashion model, which paved the way for her to become an actress. She started performing on Broadway and had a stage-name of Dianne Belmont. She later made a move Hollywood. She made a name for herself in B-movies and also earned the sobriquet of the 'Queen of B's'. The biggest hit in Lucille's career was 'I Love Lucy'; the television version of the radio show My Favorite Husband, for which Ball had lent her voice. Lucille Ball eloped with Desi Arnaz in 1940 and secretly got married. Arnaz was a Cuban and they were the first inter-nationality TV couple. Together, they started Desilu Productions. Arnaz and Ball divorced in 1960. After the downfall of Desilu in 1968, Ball founded Lucille Ball Productions in 1968.