With a name like Tempest Storm, one would anticipate a spectacular show — and she certainly delivered on that expectation.
With her fiery red hair, bold confidence, and a career spanning eight decades, she was much more than a burlesque performer. She became an icon.
Yet, beneath the glitz and glamour lay a woman who overcame adversity in the segregated South to become the undisputed Queen of Burlesque.
Born Annie Blanche Banks on February 29, 1928, in Eastman, Georgia, she was raised in a small farming community.
From Annie to Tempest
Tempest Storm dominated the stage for over 60 years — an incredible journey that started far from the spotlight, as her childhood was anything but bright.
Her early life was marked by poverty and abuse, and by the age of 14, she had fled home to find freedom. She took a job as a waitress in Columbus, Georgia, and married a U.S. Marine to legally escape her parents. However, that marriage was annulled just 24 hours later. A year later, at the age of 15, she married a local shoe salesman whose sister worked with her at a hosiery mill.
Reflecting on her second marriage years later during a 1968 interview with Roger Ebert, Storm confessed, “I just left one day. I still had it in my mind to go to Hollywood. I couldn’t shake it off.”
By the time she reached her late teens, she found herself in Los Angeles. A casting agent proposed a name that would transform her life: Tempest Storm.
”I asked her if she had any ideas. She suggested, what about Tempest Storm? I inquired if she had any other options. Well, she replied, what about Sunny Day? I thought, I guess it might as well be Tempest Storm,” she recounted.
This name change was a pivotal moment in her life, propelling her towards stardom. While she was working as a cocktail waitress, a patron noticed her charm and asked if she would consider performing a striptease.
“I said, ‘What is that?’” Ms. Storm remembered in a 2013 interview with The Quad-City Times. “Coming from a small town, I had no idea. He explained it was just dancing, but with clothes off. I responded: ‘Oh, no, not me. My mother would disown me.’”
A star is born
Storm made her burlesque debut in the late 1940s, and it didn’t take long for audiences to become captivated. Her performances weren’t just simple strip acts — they were meticulously choreographed displays filled with glamour. Adorned in gowns embellished with rhinestones, she teased with sophistication rather than mere shock value.
”I was more respectable then,” she recalled in a 1973 interview.
”You had to wear net panties and a net bra along with jeweled pasties – a G-string was not allowed.”
By the mid-1950s, Tempest was reportedly earning $100,000 annually — equivalent to nearly $950,000 today. Her iconic curves were so renowned that Lloyd’s of London supposedly insured her breasts for $1 million. The media had a field day, labeling her “Tempest in a D-Cup” and “The Girl Who Goes 3-D Two Better.”
She performed alongside legends like Blaze Starr and Lili St. Cyr, and featured in burlesque films such as Teaserama (1955) and Buxom Beautease (1956) with Bettie Page. These films, bold for their time, challenged the boundaries of comedy, sexuality, and censorship.
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They rushed her like a herd of cattle.
Tempest Storm was more than just a performer; she was a trailblazer, redefining what women could showcase on stage. Her natural curves and iconic red hair became her signature look.
In contrast to many of her contemporaries, she opted against plastic surgery, believing her natural beauty was sufficient. She didn’t smoke and steered clear of anything stronger than orange juice or 7-Up.
At home, her mornings began with a crunchy granola breakfast, and her afternoons were filled with massages, sauna sessions, and relaxing in the whirlpool.
How popular was she, you ask? A notable instance occurred in 1955 when she visited the University of Colorado. A throng of 1,500 students nearly caused a riot, leaving chaos in their path.
“They must have been cooped up for months without women; they rushed me like a herd of cattle,” Storm reminisced.
Interracial marriage
Offstage, Storm’s personal life was just as intense as her performances.
She was romantically associated with Elvis Presley, Mickey Rooney, and gangster Mickey Cohen. However, it was her marriage in 1959 to jazz legend Herb Jeffries, the first Black singing cowboy in Hollywood, that truly captured public attention.
The couple welcomed a daughter, Patricia Ann Jeffries.
As reported by The New York Times, her union with Jeffries “broke midcentury racial taboos, costing her work.” At that time, interracial marriage was still prohibited in many parts of the U.S. Consequently, public interest in Storm began to wane.
Media coverage diminished, and she was nearly sidelined, with significantly fewer photographers and reporters visiting her hometown to document her story.
Although the marriage didn’t endure, Storm never shied away from controversy, and she and Jeffries remained “closer than ever” following their separation.
Still shining in her 80s
While most stars tend to fade with age, Tempest Storm did not.
She continued to perform into her 60s and made her last stage appearance in her 80s. Even in her later years, she maintained that she felt most vibrant under the spotlight.
In 1999, Storm made a comeback on stage at San Francisco’s O’Farrell Theatre to commemorate the club’s 30th anniversary, leading Mayor Willie Brown to proclaim a “Tempest Storm Day” in her honor. She kept performing at the annual Burlesque Hall of Fame Pageant events at least until 2010.
Her journey was documented in films, such as Tempest Storm (2016), which honored her lasting impact.
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A timeless legacy
In her later years, Tempest Storm resided in Las Vegas, Nevada.
When she passed away in 2021 at the age of 93, she left more than just memories of dazzling outfits and spectacular performances.
She left a cultural shift.
She demonstrated that sensuality does not diminish with age. She challenged the norms surrounding beauty and femininity long before the term “feminist empowerment” became widely recognized. Moreover, she opened doors for contemporary burlesque performers like Dita Von Teese, who openly acknowledge Storm as their muse.
Tempest Storm truly embodied her name. She was relentless. She was unforgettable. She was a natural phenomenon.
