Origins & Early Life

Tempest Storm (born Annie Blanche Banks; February 29, 1928 – April 20, 2021), also dubbed "The Queen Of Exotic Dancers," was an American burlesque star, stripper and motion picture actress. Along with Lili St. Cyr, Sally Rand and Blaze Starr, she was one of the best-known burlesque performers of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Her career as an exotic dancer spanned more than 60 years and she was still performing in the early 21st century.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Tempest Storm was born Annie Blanche Banks on February 29, 1928, in Eastman, Georgia. She left school in seventh grade, and in 2016, she revealed that she had been sexually abused around that time. At 14, she worked as a waitress in Columbus, Georgia, where she quickly married a U.S. Marine in order to emancipate herself from her parents; she had the marriage annulled after 24 hours. At 15, she married a Columbus shoe salesman, whose sister worked with her at a hosiery mill.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Storm said in a 1968 interview with film reviewer Roger Ebert that after six months in that marriage, "I just left one day. I still had it in my mind to go to Hollywood. I couldn't get it out of my system." In Los Angeles circa 1945 at age 17...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

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