Born Tula Ellice Finklea on March 8, 1922, in Amarillo, Texas, the future Hollywood star didn’t begin life looking destined to become one of cinema’s most celebrated dancers.

Infectious Diseases

She was a thin, physically fragile child who suffered from serious health problems, including polio.

Her parents turned to ballet partly as a way of strengthening her body.

“I was skinny, and it looked like a good way to build me up,” she later recalled.

Film & TV Industry

What began as something therapeutic quickly became something much bigger.

The nickname that eventually became part of her famous stage name also originated during childhood. Her older brother reportedly had difficulty pronouncing “Sis” and called her “Sid” instead. The spelling was eventually transformed into the more distinctive “Cyd.”

Musical Films

By adolescence, it was clear that Charisse possessed exceptional ability.

She trained seriously in ballet, studying with respected teachers and eventually expanding her experience internationally. She spent time training in Los Angeles and also pursued  dance in Europe, including London and Paris.

For a period, she performed under the name Felia Sidorova, adopting the Russian-sounding identity common among ballet performers of the era.

Infectious Diseases

Eventually, however, she became Cyd Charisse.

Her entrance into Hollywood came through  dancing rather than conventional acting.

She appeared in small and sometimes uncredited roles during the early 1940s, including as a dancer in Something to Shout About in 1943

But someone with Charisse’s combination of beauty and technical ability was unlikely to remain unnoticed for long.

MGM recognized her potential during an era when the major studios were investing heavily in elaborate movie musicals.

Charisse soon found herself dancing alongside some of the greatest performers Hollywood had ever produced.