Born Rose Louise Hovick in Seattle, Washington, in 1911, but called Louise from early childhood, Gypsy Rose Lee was the daughter of a mild-mannered businessman and a restless, fiery young woman named Rose, who was determined to get out of Seattle and make a life for herself and her daughter in show business. In 1912, Rose had another child, June. Rose thought June was much more beautiful, photogenic and talented than Louise apparently could ever hope to be, which soon caused her to pack up her two children and search for a career in vaudeville . The real Gypsy even hosted two incarnations of her own talk show. She died of cancer in 1970. Even if her film career wasn't spectacular, she was immortalized on the stage of both burlesque and Broadway.
Older sister of June Havoc.
Gypsy Rose started dancing and stripping at burlesque houses at the age of 15 with the assistance of fellow dancer "Tessie The Tassel Twirler." She retired from burlesque 8 years later to appear in films but documented her rise to fame and adventurous relationship with her mother in the autobiographical book, "Gypsy."
Mother of Erik Lee Preminger.
In the 1940s, Gypsy Rose Lee was in love with the theatrical impresario Mike Todd , who produced two Broadway shows starring Lee . She married Alexander Kirkland in 1942 in an attempt to make the already-married Todd jealous. They divorced in 1944. While married to Kirkland, she had a brief fling with Otto Preminger. The fruit of their affair was a boy named Erik Lee, who has been known successively as Erik Kirkland, Erik de Diego, and Erik Lee Preminger.
Aunt of April Kent.
At one of her weddings, Gypsy had a chimpanzee as a ring bearer.
When she was diagnosed with cancer in 1969, she called it "a present from mother".
She had many pets, including cats, turtles, guinea pigs, and Chinese crested dogs.
Although she was a "stripper," she never actually got undressed.
The walls of her Los Angeles home were adorned with pictures by Joan Mir , Pablo Picasso , Marc Chagall , Max Ernst , and Dorothea Tanning , all of which were reportedly gifts to her by the artists themselves.
Like her mother, Lee was married three times.
Her mother Rose died from colon cancer in 1954.
Parents: John Hovick and Rose Thompson Hovick.
In Gypsy , Rosalind Russell portrayed Gypsy Rose Lee s mother. In The Trouble with Angels , Russell appeared with Lee.
Sister-in-law of William Spier.
Portrayed by Natalie Wood in Gypsy and even appeared on set to give Wood advice on how to perform the stripper dance routines. In real life Wood was actually eight inches shorter than the real Gypsy Rose Lee.
Her father was of Norwegian descent. Her mother was of British Isles and German ancestry.
After she was diagnosed with lung cancer she reconciled with her sister June.
If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing slowly. . . very slowly.
If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing slowly. . . very slowly.
