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Nancy Sinatra biography

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Nancy Sinatra is an American singer best known as the daughter of Frank Sinatra and for her 1966 hit single These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.


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Synopsis

American singer Nancy Sinatra, the daughter of legendary crooner Frank Sinatra, was born on June 8, 1940. Nancy's No. 1 hit single in 1966, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," forever associated go-go boots with her name. Known for her sexy girl-next-door image, she was a favorite pin-up of troops during the Vietnam War. After a brief hiatus in the 1980s to help raise her family,

Quotes

"When you're antiwar and everyone in your generation is running away from it–or being drafted, or coming back wounded, or not coming back at all–you want to get involved in some way. I don't think it's a contradiction to be antiwar and pro-troops."

– Nancy Sinatra

Sinatra returned to the music scene in 1995. She continues to work in the music industry today.

Early Life

Nancy Sinatra was born on June 8, 1940, in Jersey City, New Jersey. She was the eldest of three children born to famed crooner Frank Sinatra and his wife, Nancy Barbato Sinatra.

The family moved to Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, in Sinatra's early years. In an interview with The Guardian, Sinatra recalled that her family "had a lovely little house there, but you could get to the windows from the street—once people knew he lived there, they would come to get a glimpse, which worried my mother because I was a tiny little toddler, and she didn't want anybody stealing me from the front yard."

Her mother had good intuition for this fear. In 1963, kidnappers held Sinatra's brother, Frank Jr., for $250,000 ransom. Her father paid, and her brother was released.

When Hollywood called, the family moved to Toluca Lake, California. It was a happy childhood, with Sinatra showing great interest in the creative arts. She took lessons for 11 years in piano, eight years in dance, five years in dramatic performance and several months in voice. These classes served her well in the development of her career.

Career

Sinatra started her career in 1960, debuting on The Frank Sinatra Timex Show. Within the year Reprise Records signed her, but though she was popular in Europe and Japan, none of her songs made the U.S. charts. Things turned around in 1966 when, armed with a new tough and sexy image, she hit No. 1 with her single, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'." This success would tie go-go boots to the singer throughout her career.

Appearances on TV ensued, with roles in the films The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966), Last of the Secret Agents? (1967), The Wild Angels (1967) and Speedway, alongside Elvis Presley (1968), and TV shows like The Smothers Brothers Show, The Ed Sullivan Show and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Sinatra also conceived and produced the Emmy-winning television special Movin' With Nancy.

Though she enjoyed acting, her focus remained on singing. Most of her hits were produced by Lee Hazlewood, and from 1966 through 1967 she scored many hit singles, including "How Does That Grab You, Darlin?" (No. 7) and "Sugar Town" (No. 4). She also recorded the theme song to the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, and had a No. 1 hit record with her father, titled "Somethin' Stupid." Other popular songs included duets she recorded with Hazlewood, including "Sand," "Summer Wine" and "Some Velvet Morning."

Sinatra's popularity and looks made her a favorite pinup for GIs during the Vietnam War.

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