Lucille Désirée Ball was born August 6, 1911, in Jamestown, New York, to Henry Durrell Ball and Desiree “DeDe” Evelyn Hunt. Lucille Ball’s accomplishments were numerous, covering nearly every segment of the entertainment industry.

She is most noted for her hit television sitcom I Love Lucy, which premiered in October of 1951, and ran for 6 seasons.  Other than her success with that series, her carrier also included film, stage, radio as well as a modeling. She was the first woman to become a major film and television executive, owning her own multimillion dollar production company.

Lucille Ball left high school early at the age 15 and with her mother’s blessings she enrolled in the New York City based, John Murray Anderson Drama School.  Unfortunately, during her auditions she was repeatedly told she had no talent and was never accepted into the school.

She then turned to modeling, where she began working with a popular fashion designer, Hattie Carnegie.

She was the Chesterfield “Cigarette Girl” in 1933 and the exposure helped her to land an appearance in the Eddie Cantor’s musical, Roman Scandals, which was her first professional role.

She and her husband, Desi Arnaz, decided to work together on a project when her acting career and his Cuban musical band schedules kept them apart so much that it threatened to ruin their marriage.  They approached CBS with the their television sitcom idea, but when CBS turned them down for the pilot to I Love Lucy the couple decided to fund the project themselves.  Just thirty minutes into the pilot episode CBS decided to pick up the show.  Once I Love Lucy premiered it quickly became the most popular shows in America.

For six full seasons the I Love Lucy show ran successfully and for its first four years the show kept the number one position in the Nielsen ratings.  Over its six year run the show never fell below number three in the ratings. The I Love Lucy show and its cast won more than 200 individual awards including five Emmy Awards.

Lucille Ball won 13 Emmy Award nominations over her career, and she won four. She also received the Golden Globe – Cecil B. Demille Award back in 1979. Then in 1986 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors.  Three years later she accepted the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Science.