Star Facts
  • Category Motion Pictures

    Address 6351 Hollywood Blvd.

    Ceremony date 02/08/1960

About
Gypsy Rose Lee
Born:
1911-01-08,
Seattle,
Washington,
USA
Education:
NA
Ethnicity:
Caucasian
Death Date:
-0001-11-30
Addition Websites

Gypsy Rose Lee

Gypsy Rose Lee was an American burlesque entertainer, famous for her striptease act. She was also an actress, author and playwright, whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film ‘.

Gypsy Rose Lee was born Rose Louise Hovick‘ in Seattle, Washington in 1911, although her mother later shaved three years off both of her daughters’ ages. She was initially known by her middle name, Louise. Her mother, Rose Hovick, was a teenaged bride fresh from a convent school when she married Norwegian-American John Olaf Hovick, who was a newspaper advertising salesman and a reporter at The Seattle Times”. Louise’s sister, Ellen Evangeline Hovick, was born in 1913.

After their parents divorced, the girls supported the family by appearing in vaudeville where June’s talent shone, while Louise remained in the background. At the age of 15 in December 1928, June eloped with Bobby Reed, a dancer in the act, much to her mother’s displeasure, going on to a brief career in marathon dancing, which was more remunerative than tap dancing at the time.

Louise’s singing and dancing talents were insufficient to sustain the act without June. Eventually, it became apparent that Louise could make money in burlesque, which earned her legendary status as a classy and witty strip tease artist. Initially, her act was propelled forward when a shoulder strap on one of her gowns gave way, causing her dress to fall to her feet despite her efforts to cover herself; encouraged by the audience response, she went on to make the trick the focus of her performance.Her innovations were an almost casual strip style, compared to the herky-jerky styles of most burlesque strippers and she brought a sharp sense of humor into her act as well. She became as famous for her onstage wit as for her strip style, and—changing her stage name to Gypsy Rose Lee—she became one of the biggest stars of Minsky’s Burlesque, where she performed for four years. She was frequently arrested in raids on the Minsky brothers’ shows.

amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0";amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true";amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "hwof05-20";amzn_assoc_search_bar_position = "bottom";amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "search";amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart";amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon";amzn_assoc_region = "US";amzn_assoc_title = "Shop Gypsy Rose Lee";amzn_assoc_default_search_phrase = "Gypsy Rose Lee";amzn_assoc_default_category = "All";amzn_assoc_linkid = "e60485043f73031298840e43b2217450";