Gorgeous and Desired.... and in Her 80's!

A photo of Tempest Storm dated 2010.. 
which would mean age  82!

Tempest Storm first took the world by.... well... you guessed it, storm!.... with her beautiful figure and vivacious personality back in the '50's when she entered (and ultimately canonized) the industry of burlesque.  Now, more than half a century later, she still performs and vaunts a silhouette that would make most 20 somethings race to the gym in desperate envy.

With homegrown measurements of 44-25-35 it's no wonder she was dubbed the Girl with the Fabulous Front. And despite the natural effects of time and gravity she remains just as lovely... without the aid of plastic surgery or cosmetic fillers.

Her act is equally well-preserved and has not cowered to the times or pop tastes... and that it why it is still popular. She brings pinup glamour and slooooooooooooow boiling tease to an art form enjoyed not just by mass voyeurs, but by many couples just between the two of them in their most intimate moments.  Unlike the quick to nude hip-hop pole and lapdance based strippers of today, Storm says it takes a full four song numbers to elegantly disrobe down to pasties and a G-string.   Instead of a pole, she opts for a boa.  And would never be caught wagging her backside inches from a man's face.  

with sister icon Betty Page in Teasemania

Per Wikipedia, "Storm was born Annie Blanche Banks in Eastman, Georgia. By the age of 20, she had already been twice married and divorced. She decided to head for Hollywood. Her beauty landed her work as a chorus girl, but her figure, combined with a magnetic stage personality, led her to a highly successful career in burlesque. Her professional debut was at El Rey Theater in Oakland, California. She adopted the stage name Tempest Storm about 1950 and changed it legally in 1957.  In 1955, while working at the Tropics Nightclub, in Denver CO, Tempest visited the University of Colorado, Boulder, campus. All she took off was her mink coat, but she started a near-riot. She was married to Duke Ellington's singer (and first black cowboy) Herb Jeffries."

Writer Shannon Bryan cleverly put it this way in the Portland Press Herald last November, "It’s an impressive history – one to tell the grandkids about, once they turn 18... But Tempest Storm isn’t living in the past, spending her afternoons among crochet hooks and an embarrassing number of cats. This octogenarian still likes to get gussied up, slip into something fabulous – and then slip out of it.  'At my age, I’m still out there dropping my veils,' she said. 'I don’t even think of retirement.'" And her work ethic bears this out as she shows no signs of slowing down, despite a temporary performance hiccup caused by a hip problem late last fall. 

"To folks who might think a woman of a certain age should trade her G-string in for Geritol, Storm says it’s all a matter of attitude.  'Age has never bothered me,' she said. 'A lot of people worry about age. Train yourself to be old, then you’ll be old.'” 

Natural assets and professional poise notwithstanding, little Annie Banks from Georgia is a tempestuous reminder that beauty is far from skin or bling & trappings deep, and that women of every age and size have equal right to feel attractive and desirable.