“Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a redhead.” — Lucille Ball

On August 6, 1911, Lucille Désirée Ball was born, and so was a star.

She would get into modeling at first and then eventually show business in 1933, and she would do plenty of uncredited work before moving into more substantial roles. But it wasn’t until 1951 when she and then husband of 11 years, Desi Arnaz, came into homes everywhere on I Love Lucy. The show would span six years and 181 episodes, and remains popular to this very day.

Lucy would eventually move on to other ventures””The Lucy Show (156 episodes); Here’s Lucy (143 episodes)””but none would have the lasting effect that I Love Lucy had and will continue to have on generations to come. Even in black and white, you could almost see that iconic fiery red hair bursting through your television screen.

Lucille Ball sadly passed away too soon in 1989 at the age of 77, but nevertheless, we celebrate what would have been her 100th birthday today.

You can also head to the Google homepage for a special tribute to Lucy.

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