From sickly to stunning! The polio survivor who became a Hollywood icon
Cyd Charisse could do nearly everything—sing, act, and move as if music lived in her bloodstream. Born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas, in 1922, she was a fragile child who survived polio before she was six. Ballet became her therapy and, eventually, her destiny. Her brother’s lisped nickname “Cyd” replaced “Sis,” marking the beginning of a…
