Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball began her career in entertainment as a teenager, leaving Jamestown, New York, at age 15 to study drama in New York City. She worked as a model for Hattie Carnegie and as a Goldwyn Girl, making her film debut in 1933's Roman Scandals. By the 1940s, she had appeared in over 75 films, earning the nickname 'Queen of the B’s' for her roles in B-movies, and starred in notable films like The Big Street (1942) with Henry Fonda, Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), and comedies with Bob Hope such as Sorrowful Jones (1949) and Fancy Pants (1950). In 1940, Ball eloped with Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz, and in 1951, they launched I Love Lucy, a sitcom based on their lives that became television's top show for four seasons. The series pioneered three-camera filming, live audiences, and featured the first visibly pregnant woman on TV. After divorcing Arnaz in 1960, Ball bought his share of Desilu in 1962, becoming the first woman to head a major Hollywood studio. Under her leadership, Desilu produced hits like The Untouchables, Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible. Ball remarried comedian Gary Morton in 1961 and continued acting into her later years, including a dramatic role as a homeless woman in the 1985 TV movie Stone Pillow. She taught comedy workshops and remained active until her death from a ruptured aorta in 1989 at age 77.