Comedy legend and television icon, Lucille Ball passed away in 1989, but she's making headlines more than 30 years later, and it's all because of her great-grandaughter. In 1940, Ball married her I Love Lucy co-star, Desi Arnaz. Their 20-year marriage was infamously volatile, fraught with numerous infidelity allegations. However, during their time together, the two welcomed two children into the world: Lucie and Desi Arnaz Jr.
The latter inherited his father's bad-boy reputation. As Desi Jr. told People in 1978,
"Years ago I was a playboy. From the time I was 13, I thought I was in love."
By 15, Arnaz Jr. had a child of his own, Julia. Born out of wedlock, The New York Post reports that she was estranged from her father and his family for many years. In 1994, the Orlando Sentinel reported that she was, quote, "hooked on cocaine and working as a stripper." During that time, she sought out her dad for support that she would never receive. Howe told the outlet,
"All I ever wanted from [Arnaz] was for him to come to the phone when I called or answer a letter. He couldn't reach out and help his own flesh and blood."
So what does any of that have to do with Ball? Well, as it turns out, Howe had a daughter of her own, and she's very aware of the fact that she's descended from Hollywood royalty.
Julia Howe's daughter, Desiree Anzalone, never had the chance to meet her great-grandmother, and neither did her mother. As Howe wrote on her Facebook page in 2018 on the anniversary of Lucille Ball's death,
"RIP to my beautiful grandmother~ This was a very difficult day for me to have to find out through the news...I remember just falling to my knees knowing I'd never get the chance to ever [meet] my G-ma in this lifetime."
However, Howe decided to keep Ball's legacy alive and name her daughter after her grandmother, giving her child Ball's middle name.
Growing up, Anzalone wasn't very close to her mom, which had to do, in part, with the fact that her mother struggled with a drug addiction. She wrote on her Instagram page in 2017,
"My grandparents on my dad's side raised me and had full custody of me so I never knew my mom until later in life. I was only 3 when my mother decided it best to give me up but I'm resilient."
One example of her resilience? Anzalone fought stage four breast cancer, and beat it.
Nowadays, Ball's great-granddaughter works as a photographer in Connecticut. Her main Instagram page is filled with photos that show she bears a striking resemblance to the I Love Lucy star, but she doesn't think so.
She wrote on Instagram in April 2019,
"I have acknowledged my entire life I do not resemble my great-grandma, but rather have more of the Arnaz genes."
Regardless, she still has old Hollywood royalty in her blood.
Considering the fact that Julia Howe never had a chance to meet her famous relative, will we ever really know what Lucille Ball was like as a grandmother? Well, Ball's daughter, Lucie Arnaz, had three children of her own, and one of them, Kate Luckinbill-Conner, has spoken out about the television legend.
She mused to Closer Weekly in 2019,
"My grandmother was a regular girl from upstate New York. She didn't set out to be anyone's icon."
She also added that Ball was a "really good grandma," making up for lost time not being around her daughter, Lucie. She recalled,
"I remember her giving me these incredible bubble baths. She loved to wrap me up in towels and do my hair and makeup."
A few weeks before the Closer Weekly feature was published, Ball's granddaughter launched The Lucy Legacy, a Facebook page honoring her grandmother. Luckinbill-Conner announced the launch of the page in April 2019 during a gala at the Hollywood Museum that marked the 30th anniversary of Ball's passing. Reflecting on Ball, Luckinbill-Conner reportedly that legacy her grandmother left behind was to, quote, "show up, do the work, be the best, don't take no for an answer."
Watch the video to see how Lucille Ball's Great-Granddaughter Looks Exactly Like The Legend.
#LucilleBall #DesireeAnzalone #ILoveLucy
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