Wow! What an incredible life. Absolutely adored this book. I knew nothing about Juliet before this book and I love everything about her after reading this. Written with so much care and love. Thank you NetGallery!

This biography details the life of Juliet Prowse, a talented dancer from South Africa. She came to fame in the 50s and 60s with her talent, both on the stage and on screen. While she may not be one of the biggest names of the era, she certainly has left a lasting legacy on the world of dance.

I picked up this book because the name sounded familiar, and I remembered seeing Prowse in the movie, Who Killed Teddy Bear? which is apparently one of her lesser-known roles. She also did appearances on many old variety shows, so I know that I have probably seen her dance as well. I enjoyed reading her story, told by her niece of the same name. And while she may not have had a conventional life, she certainly had an interesting one. This book is perfect for those who love to immerse themselves in 50s/60s glitz, glamour, and Hollywood.

I picked up the book because I knew of Juliet from my favorite Elvis movie, GI Blues. Plus, my mom tells a story about seeing her in Vegas. Both of these things are touched on in this book plus so much more. Her niece did a fantastic job bringing her aunts story to life. I give it 4.5 because I wanted lots of pictures and none showed up for me.

I grew up watching Juliet Prowse on television so was really excited to learn more about her. This book is written by her niece who was able to share personal memories as well as interviewed people who knew and worked with her throughout her career. Originally from South Africa, she became famous not only on Broadway, television and Las Vegas, she also was in a relationship with Frank Sinatra. She was an incredible dancer who was generous in spirit and while having great success professionally, had heartbreak in her romances. A wonderful close-up view of an incredible performer.

Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

Juliet Prowse was a young South African dancer who burst into the international spotlight in her first Hollywood movie, Can-Can. Considered talented and exotic, she caught the media’s attention and her engagement to Frank Sinatra fuelled their fascination further. But was it true love and what did Sinatra make of Juliet’s relationship with Elvis during G.I. Blues? Unhappy with 20th Century Fox, Juliet broke out of her contract, created her own company and became one of the highest paid dancers of her era on a Desert Inn $1 million contract by the mid-1970s.

While Juliet won awards for Sweet Charity in Las Vegas and London, opening on Broadway seemed elusive. Juliet continued to build her world-class modern dance company, winning Female Entertainer of the Year in Las Vegas four times in the era of Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand and Shirley MacLaine. As a triple threat, Juliet featured on the international stage for four decades.

This story is personal. Told by Juliet’s niece, it includes Juliet’s words from letters written to her mother (the author’s grandmother), family anecdotes and amusing insights from those who worked with Juliet. With her endless legs and playful charm, Juliet had many romances and married actor John McCook of The Bold and the Beautiful. But in her search for love and professional fulfilment, could she accomplish it all?

Loved loved loved this. Found it to be informative and entertaining