Nancy Sinatra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nancy Sinatra
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Sinatra in her television special Movin' with Nancy, 1967
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Nancy Sandra Sinatra
June 8, 1940 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
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| Education | University High School |
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| Years active | 1957–present |
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| Children | 2, including AJ |
| Parent(s) | Frank Sinatra Nancy Barbato |
| Relatives | Frank Sinatra Jr. (brother) Tina Sinatra (sister) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocals |
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Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is a famous American singer, actress, and writer. She is the daughter of the legendary singer Frank Sinatra. Nancy is best known for her huge hit song from 1965, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'".
Nancy started her singing career in 1957 on her father's TV show, The Frank Sinatra Show. At first, she became popular mainly in Europe and Japan. In 1966, her song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" became a number-one hit on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The song's music video showed Nancy in tall boots with colorful dancers. This look became a famous part of the "Swinging Sixties" style.
Many of Nancy's hits were written and produced by Lee Hazlewood. He also sang several duets with her. Between 1966 and 1968, Nancy had 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with 10 of them reaching the Top 40. Other well-known songs from this time include "Sugar Town" and "Love Eyes". She also had a number-one hit in 1967 with her father called "Somethin' Stupid".
Nancy also sang two versions of the theme song for the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967). She worked with Lee Hazlewood on songs like "Summer Wine", "Jackson", and "Some Velvet Morning". Her 1966 cover of Cher's song "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" was later used in Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film Kill Bill Volume 1.
From 1964 to 1968, Nancy appeared in several movies. She starred with Peter Fonda in The Wild Angels (1966) and with Elvis Presley in Speedway (1968). She also played a fictional daughter to her real father, Frank Sinatra, in the 1965 comedy Marriage on the Rocks.
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Nancy Sinatra's Early Life
Nancy Sinatra was born on June 8, 1940, in Jersey City, New Jersey. She is the oldest of three children born to Frank Sinatra and his first wife, Nancy Barbato. Both of her parents had Italian family backgrounds.
When Nancy was a toddler, her family moved to Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. Later, they moved to Toluca Lake, California, because her father's acting career took off in Hollywood. There, Nancy spent many years taking lessons in piano, dance, and acting. She also took voice lessons for several months.
Nancy's Music Career
Starting Out in the 1950s and 1960s
Nancy began studying music, dancing, and voice at UCLA in the late 1950s. However, she left after one year. She made her first professional appearance on her father's TV show in November 1957. She also appeared on his 1960 TV special, The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis. This special celebrated Elvis Presley's return from Europe after his military service. Nancy was even sent to the airport to welcome Elvis when his plane landed. On the show, Nancy and her father sang a duet called "You Make Me Feel So Young/Old".
In 1961, Nancy signed with her father's record label, Reprise Records. Her first song, "Cuff Links and a Tie Clip," did not become a hit. However, her next songs did well in Europe and Japan. By 1965, she still hadn't had a hit in the United States. She was almost dropped by her record label.
Her singing career got a big boost when she started working with songwriter and producer Lee Hazlewood. He had been making records for ten years. Frank Sinatra asked Lee to help his daughter's career. When they were recording "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", Hazlewood reportedly told Nancy, "You can't sing like Nancy Nice Lady anymore. You have to sing for the truckers." Nancy later said he was "part Henry Higgins and part Sigmund Freud".
Hazlewood helped Nancy sing in a lower voice and wrote songs just for her. Nancy also changed her look. She bleached her hair blond, wore frosted lipstick, heavy eye makeup, and Carnaby Street fashions. With this new image, Nancy became a big star in America and Britain in early 1966 with "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'". The song's title was inspired by a line from a 1963 movie starring her father. This song, written by Hazlewood, was nominated for three Grammy Awards. It sold over one million copies and earned a gold disc. A TV video showed Nancy in tall boots with colorful dancers, creating an iconic Swinging Sixties look.
Many hit songs followed. In 1966, she had two US Top Ten hits: "How Does That Grab You, Darlin'?" (number 7) and "Sugar Town" (number 5). "Sugar Town" also sold over a million copies. The slow song "Somethin' Stupid" – a duet with her father – reached number one in both the US and the UK in April 1967. It stayed at the top of Billboard's easy listening chart for nine weeks. Frank and Nancy became the only father-daughter duo to have a number-one hit on the Hot 100. This song was nominated for a Grammy Award and became Nancy's third million-selling record.
Other popular songs by Nancy include "Friday's Child" (US number 36, 1966) and the 1967 hits "Love Eyes" (US number 15) and "Lightning's Girl" (US number 24). In 1967, she also sang "Tony Rome" (US number 83), the title song from a movie starring her father. Her first solo song in 1968 was "100 Years" (US number 69). That same year, she recorded "Highway Song" for Europe, which reached the Top 20 in the UK and other European countries.
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Nancy also had a successful career singing duets with Lee Hazlewood. He had a deep, country-style voice. Their first duet was "Summer Wine". Their biggest hit together was a cover of the 1963 country song "Jackson". This song reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1967.
In December 1967, Nancy and Hazlewood released the song "Some Velvet Morning" (US number 26). This song is seen as one of pop music's most unusual singles. One critic said its lyrics and beautiful sound offer "seemingly endless interpretations." The Daily Telegraph newspaper in Britain named "Some Velvet Morning" the best duet ever in 2003. The song appeared on their 1968 album Nancy & Lee.
Nancy recorded the theme song for the James Bond film You Only Live Twice in 1967. She later said she was "scared to death" to record it. There are two versions of the Bond theme. The first is the full orchestral version used in the film. The second, more guitar-heavy version, was released as a single with "Jackson". The Bond theme reached number 44 on Billboard's Hot 100. "Jackson"/"You Only Live Twice" was even more successful in the UK, reaching number 11 on the singles chart.
Nancy traveled to Vietnam to perform for US troops in 1966 and 1967. Many soldiers adopted her song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" as their anthem. Nancy also recorded several anti-war songs. She recreated her Vietnam concerts on a 1988 episode of the TV show China Beach. Nancy still performs for charities that support Vietnam veterans today.
Movies and TV Shows
Nancy Sinatra appeared in several movies and TV shows. She played a secretary in a 1963 episode of Burke's Law. She also starred in "beach party" films like For Those Who Think Young (1964) and Get Yourself a College Girl (1964). She was supposed to be in Beach Blanket Bingo, but she left the movie. This was because the character in the film was kidnapped, which was too similar to when her brother Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped in 1963.
Nancy appeared as a guest on the game show Password in 1965 with Woody Allen. She played herself in The Oscar (1966). She also starred in The Last of the Secret Agents? and The Wild Angels in the same year. Her last film was the 1968 Elvis Presley musical comedy Speedway.
Nancy was a guest on many TV shows, including The Virginian, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. She also appeared in her father's 1966 special A Man and His Music – Part II and a 1967 Christmas episode of The Dean Martin Show.
In 1967, NBC aired Nancy's own TV special, Movin' with Nancy. It featured Lee Hazlewood, her father, and his friends Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.. Her brother Frank Sinatra Jr. and dancer David Winters also appeared. The director, Jack Haley Jr., won an Emmy Award for the special. During the show, Nancy shared a kiss with Sammy Davis Jr. She later said this was "one of the first interracial kisses seen on television."
Nancy's Career in the 1970s and 1980s
Nancy stayed with Reprise Records until 1970. In 1971, she signed with RCA Records and released three albums. In the fall of 1971, her duet with Hazlewood, "Did You Ever?", reached number 2 in the UK. In 1972, they performed for a Swedish documentary called Nancy & Lee In Las Vegas.
By 1975, Nancy was releasing songs on the Private Stock Records label. These songs are now very popular with collectors. By the mid-1970s, Nancy slowed down her music and acting career to focus on her family. She returned to the studio in 1981 to record a country album with Mel Tillis called Mel & Nancy. Two of their songs, "Texas Cowboy Night" and "Play Me or Trade Me," made the Billboard country chart.
In 1985, Nancy wrote a book about her father called Frank Sinatra, My Father.
Nancy's Career from the 1990s to Today
In 1995, Nancy wrote another book, Frank Sinatra, An American Legend. She updated it in 1998 after her father passed away. Nancy owns the rights to most of her music and videos, which was advice her father gave her.
Nancy performed live at the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2002. The concert was sold out and filmed by the BBC. In 2004, she worked with Morrissey on a version of his song "Let Me Kiss You". This song was on her album Nancy Sinatra. The single reached number 46 in the UK, giving Nancy her first hit in over 30 years. The album also featured artists like U2, Sonic Youth, and Calexico, who said Nancy influenced their music.
In 2006, EMI released The Essential Nancy Sinatra, a collection of her greatest hits. This album was Nancy's first to make the UK charts since 1971. Nancy received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 11, 2006. She also has a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars from 2002.
Nancy appeared as herself on an episode of the HBO show The Sopranos. Her brother Frank Jr. had also appeared on the show. In 2007, Nancy and Anoushka Shankar recorded a public service announcement to encourage reading.
Nancy released the digital album Cherry Smiles: The Rare Singles in 2009. It included songs that had not been released before. In 2013, she released another digital album, Shifting Gears, with 15 new songs.
In 2017, Nancy's 1967 duet with Lee Hazlewood, "Summer Wine", was used in an ad campaign for the clothing store H&M. In 2020, Nancy and Light in the Attic Records announced plans to release the Nancy Sinatra Archival Series. This series includes new compilations and reissues of her past albums. Her first album, Boots, was reissued in 2021. In 2023, a new 25-song collection called Keep Walkin': Singles, Demos & Rarities 1965-1978 was released. Nancy also participated in her first YouTube live chat in November 2023.
Nancy's Personal Life
Nancy Sinatra has been married twice:
- Tommy Sands, from 1960 to 1965 (they divorced).
- Hugh Lambert, from 1970 to 1985 (until his death).
She has two daughters with Hugh Lambert:
- Angela Jennifer "AJ" Lambert Paparozzi
- Amanda Catherine Lambert Erlinger
Both daughters received money from their grandfather Frank Sinatra's will.
Between her marriages, Nancy was engaged to producer Jack Haley Jr.. She also dated Michael Caine and Phil Spector. She lived with architect David Clinton, who designed her homes in Beverly Hills.
Nancy's Political Views
Nancy Sinatra has shared her views on political issues. She supports advances in women's rights, healthcare, and efforts to reverse climate change.
Nancy Sinatra's Music Albums
Solo Studio Albums
- Boots (1966)
- How Does That Grab You? (1966)
- Nancy in London (1966)
- Sugar (1967)
- Country, My Way (1967)
- Nancy (1969)
- Woman (1972)
- One More Time (1995)
- Sheet Music (1998)
- How Does It Feel? (1999)
- California Girl (2002)
- Nancy Sinatra (2004)
- Shifting Gears (2013)
Collaborative Studio Albums
- Nancy & Lee (with Lee Hazlewood) (1968)
- The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas (with Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra Jr. and Tina Sinatra) (1968)
- Nancy & Lee Again (with Lee Hazlewood) (1972)
- Mel & Nancy (with Mel Tillis) (1981)
- Nancy & Lee 3 (with Lee Hazlewood) (2004)
Nancy Sinatra's Filmography
Feature Films
- For Those Who Think Young (1964) - Karen Cross
- Get Yourself a College Girl (1964) - Lynne
- Marriage on the Rocks (1965) - Tracy Edwards
- The Last of the Secret Agents? (1966) - Micheline
- The Oscar (1966) - Herself
- The Wild Angels (1966) - "Mike"
- Speedway (1968) - Susan Jacks
Documentaries
- Jay Sebring....Cutting to the Truth (2020)
Images for kids
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Sinatra in her television special Movin' with Nancy, 1967
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Sinatra family portrait, 1949, with Nancy at far left
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Sinatra in 1967
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Nancy Sinatra and singer-songwriter Lee Hazlewood on The Hollywood Palace in 1968
See also
In Spanish: Nancy Sinatra para niños
