Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee was Born Norma Dolores Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota, on May 26, 1920. At age four her mother died. Peggy's father, a railroad station agent, remarried but later left home, leaving Peggy's care entrusted to a stepmother who physically abused her.

Gave birth to her only child at age 23, a daughter Nicki Lee Foster on November 11, 1943. Child's father was her 1st ex-husband, Dave Barbour.

Is the namesake of the "Margarita" cocktail. In 1948 Santos Cruz, a bartender at the famed Texas nightclub the Balinese Room, mixed up a new drink especially for her. He named it for the Spanish version of "Margaret" which is the formal version of "Peggy".

She made her mark in Hollywood as an actress, winning an Academy Award nomination for her role as the hard-drinking singer in the jazz saga, Pete Kelly's Blues (1955) and composed songs for the 1955 Walt Disney animated classic Lady and the Tramp (1955). The animated film featured a character named Peg, a broken-down old showgirl of a dog, whose provocative walk was based on the stage-prowl of Peggy Lee. Later she sued Disney and won a landmark legal judgment for a portion of the profits from the videocassette sale of the film.

The original line-up on her 1958 smash hit "Fever" comprised: Jack Mondragon (double bass), Shelly Manne (drums) and Howard A. Roberts (electric guitar). It was Peggy Lee's idea to eliminate Roberts' guitar, entirely, and have him provide the funky finger-snapping instead. Manne used his hands and fingers (rather than drumsticks) to tap his snare drum and tom-tom to the accompaniment of his bass drum.

Mentioned in "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (1959) {Caper at the Bijou (#1.1)}.

A diabetic, she was often troubled by weight and glandular problems. In 1961 she was felled by double pneumonia, and in 1976 she had a near-fatal fall in a New York hotel. She was again seriously injured in another fall in Las Vegas in 1987. In early 1985 she underwent four angioplasties--balloon surgery to open clogged arteries--and resumed her singing tour. While appearing in New Orleans in October 1985, she underwent double-bypass heart surgery. In 1998 she suffered a stroke that impaired her speech, requiring therapy to recover.

Became a grandmother for the first time at age 44 when her daughter Nicki Lee Foster gave birth to her son, David A. Foster, on October 1, 1964.

Became a grandmother for the second time at age 47 when her daughter Nicki Lee Foster gave birth to her daughter, Holly E. Foster (Holly Foster Wells), on June 21, 1967.

Became a grandmother for the third time at age 48 when her daughter Nicki Lee Foster gave birth to her son, Michael J. Foster, on June 2, 1968.

Peggy shot to stardom when she and Goodman cut the hit record "Why Don't You Do Right?" and went out on her own to record such classics as "Fever", "Lover", "Golden Earrings", "Big Spender" and "Is That All There Is?" - the latter winning her a Grammy Award in 1969. Peggy's vocal style provided a distinctive imprint to countless swing tunes, ballads and big band numbers. She was considered the type of performer equally capable of interpreting a song as uniquely as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Bessie Smith.

Peggy's private life was racked by physical ailments, a near-fatal fall in 1976, diabetes and a stroke in 1998. She was married four times, all ending in divorce. She and first husband, guitarist Dave Barbour, had a daughter, Nicki, her only child.

Peggy later memorialized this in the calypso number "One Beating a Day", one of 22 songs she co-wrote for the autobiographical musical "Peg", in which she made her Broadway debut in 1983 at the age of 62. As a youngster Peggy worked as a milkmaid, later turning to singing for money in her teens. While singing on a local radio station in Fargo, the program director there suggested she change her name to Peggy Lee. Peggy's big break came when Benny Goodman hired her to sing with his band after hearing her perform.

Received the Women's International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award in 1987.

Her 1989 album, "Peggy Sings the Blues", was a Grammy Award nominee.

Peggy was a prolific songwriter and arranger and her 1990 "The Peggy Lee Songbook" contained four songs she wrote with guitarist John Chiodini. Peggy also wrote for jazz greats Duke Ellington, who called her "The Queen", and Johnny Mercer, and composer Quincy Jones.

Also in 1990 Peggy was awarded the coveted Pied Piper Award presented by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1992 and the American Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999.

At the time of her death she was leading a potentially groundbreaking class-action lawsuit vs. Universal Music, a unit of Vivendi Universal. In early January 2002 the music giant agreed to pay $4.75 million in back royalties to as many as 300 performers to settle the suit.

Gwen Stefani paid homage to her by doing her hair and eyes in her style on the cover of her 2006 album, "The Sweet Escape".

Ana Gasteyer paid homage to her in an April 2013 TV advertisement for Weight Watchers by parodying both her appearance and signature tune, "Fever".