Juliet Anne Prowse, a renowned dancer, embarked on a four-decade-long career spanning stage, television, and film, captivating audiences worldwide with her captivating legs, which were later described as having "... arguably the best legs since Betty Grable."
Born in South Africa, Prowse's family relocated to the country after World War II. Her early twenties found her dancing at a Parisian club, where she was discovered by a talent agent and subsequently signed to star as Claudine in the 1959 film Can-Can, opposite Walter Lang.
During the filming of Can-Can, Prowse gained international recognition, particularly after Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited the set and, after witnessing her sultry can-can performance, proclaimed it immoral. This publicity brought Prowse significant attention in the United States.
Prowse met Frank Sinatra on the set of Can-Can and went on to appear alongside him on the 1959 Frank Sinatra Show, where she would occasionally sing in the chorus with other guests or Sinatra would serenade her. Sinatra even invited her to join him in Las Vegas, despite her being in a relationship with actor Nico Minardos at the time. They announced their engagement in 1962, but broke up shortly after due to Prowse's desire to focus on her career.
Prowse co-starred alongside Elvis Presley in G.I. Blues, during which they had a brief and intense romantic affair. She also made a cameo appearance in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer documentary film, Elvis: That's the Way.
In the 1965-1966 season, Prowse starred alongside Denny Scott Miller in the NBC sitcom Mona McCluskey, which was produced by George Burns. The show was based on the idea that the couple, Mike and Mona McCluskey, would live on his military salary rather than her lucrative earnings as an actress.
Later in her life, Prowse suffered a series of unfortunate incidents, including being mauled by an 80-pound leopard twice in the late 1980s. The second attack, while rehearsing a promotional stunt on The Tonight Show, was more severe, requiring upwards of twenty stitches to reattach her ear.
