Desi Arnaz & Lucille Ball’s Great-Granddaughter Desiree Anzalone’s Life Was Sadly Cut Short

Oct 16, 2023

Lucille Ball was one of the most beloved actresses of all time. Known for her great comedic timing and charming demeanor, Ball paved the way for many future female stars in the entertainment industry. She was best known for being an actress, comedian and model, but Ball also truly made her presence known in the television industry with her work as a studio executive and producer.

Struggling to find work in New York City, Ball eventually relocated to Hollywood to fully pursue her passion and work at becoming a successful actress. It was challenging for the hopeful star to find work and get the recognition that she deserved, but she never gave up on her dreams.

Ball later skyrocketed to fame with her sitcom “I Love Lucy,” a show she both starred in and produced. She even starred in the show with her then-husband, Desi Arnaz. The series brought Ball great success and led to a series of spin-offs, helping her continue her reign as one of the best sitcom actresses of all time.

Although Ball and Arnaz are no longer with us, their memory and legacy have been carried on through their beautiful children. Both their son and daughter have followed in their famous parents’ footsteps as they have each ventured into the acting industry. Today, both Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. are grown and are very involved in the entertainment industry in multiple ways. More importantly, they are still doing their parents’ namesakes justice. Read on to find out more about Ball’s life and find out more about the tragic fate that befell her great-granddaughter in 2020.

Lucille Desiree Ball was born on Aug. 6, 1911, in Jamestown, New York. In 1926, Ball enrolled in the John Murray Anderson School for the Dramatic Arts in New York City. Bette Davis was also a student at the school at the time. In 1933, Ball managed to land a role in “Roman Scandals,” although the role was uncredited. After this, Ball permanently moved to Hollywood to continue pursuing her passion of becoming a successful actress. She began to secure more roles, including a part in “Three Little Pigskins” in 1934 with the Three Stooges and “Room Service” in 1938 with the Marx Brothers. She also had minor roles in a variety of RKO musicals, including “Roberta” and “Top Hat” in 1935.

In 1948, Ball was cast as Liz Cooper in the radio comedy “My Favourite Husband.” The show was successful, leading to CBS developing it for television. Ball agreed on the condition that her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz, would be cast alongside her. Unfortunately, the network was unimpressed with the pilot episode and ended up scrapping the show.

This failure ended up leading to Ball’s claim to fame, as “I Love Lucy” was later put on air on CBS. The network had seen great potential in Ball and her vibrant red hair as she portrayed the role of a zany housewife in “I Love Lucy.” Ball easily skyrocketed to fame with her starring role on the show and achieved several firsts in the television industry. She became the first woman to head a TV production company, Desilu Studios, and “I Love Lucy” was the first show to feature an ensemble cast. Alongside Ball starred her real-life husband as her on-screen husband. Other notable cast members included Vivian Vance, William Frawley, and Richard Keith.

Just months before “I Love Lucy” had gone on air, Ball had given birth to her first child and only daughter, Lucie Desiree Arnaz. A few years later, she gave birth to her youngest child and only son, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV, known as Desi Arnaz, Jr. Before her son was born, “I Love Lucy” was receiving rave reviews and had solid ratings, so Ball and Arnaz decided to write the pregnancy into the show. The episode where Ball’s character gave birth was aired on the same day that Ball herself gave birth in real life.

Although Ball had just ridden a long wave of success with her hit sitcom, not everything was going as smoothly in her personal life. Her marriage with Desi had been full of struggles as they two had difficulties balancing their work life and home life together. Ball had initially filed for divorce in 1944, but the couple ended up being able to reconcile. In March 1960, Ball once again filed for divorce, but the couple ended up going through with it this time, resulting in their divorce being finalized by May of that year. Despite their differences as a couple, Ball and Desi remained friends until Arnaz’s death in 1986.

Near the end of her life, Ball suffered from a few health complications. Lee Tannen, one of Ball’s friends, had told Closer Weekly that Ball had had a stroke in 1988, “but it didn’t get her down.” In fact, the actress even continued to exercise and work on her health. On April 26, 1989, Ball died at the age of 77 from a ruptured aorta.

Being born into a family with such busy and famous parents, it’s no surprise that Lucie and Desi Jr. both decided to enter the entertainment industry. They were even featured in Ball’s most notable series. Lucie was born on July 17, 1951. Desi Jr. was born on Jan. 19, 1953.

Desi Jr. celebrated his 70th birthday in 2023. He appeared in a handful of shows and movies during his career, including “To Kill a Cop” and “The Carol Channing Show.” He had several high-profile relationships, some of which led to public scrutiny. The pressure started to become too much for Desi Jr. as he struggled with substance abuse before eventually entering a recovery program, according to the Daily Mail. He officially quit acting in 2010.

As the son of two of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Desi Jr. had a wild time in his youth partying and schmoozing with glamorous stars. At 15, he and model Susan Callahan-Howe, who was also 15 at the time, had a daughter named Julia Arnaz. Julia, in turn, gave birth to Desiree Anzalone, Ball’s first great-granddaughter, in September 1989.

Desiree shares more than a name with her great-grandmother. The two had similar facial features and delicate bone structure. They both also shared the same beautiful blue eyes and full lips. However, Desiree was more than just a pretty face. A professional photographer, Desiree also loved '60s and '70s music, and was a model, a singer and a songwriter who could play the piano and guitar. 

However, at the tender age of 25, tragedy struck. Desiree was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. After undergoing chemotherapy, the cancer went into remission for a few years. It then returned as stage 4 cancer. Desiree sadly passed away at the age of 31 in 2020. 

Prior to her passing, Desiree had shared her feelings in an Instagram post about an Epoch Times article comparing her to her famous great-grandmother. 

“Such a nice article wrote about me, and how Lucy and I share the same gumption in regards to my fight with stage 4 breast cancer and how proud she’d be of me,” she wrote before addressing some of the harsh comments from the public about how she had “No resemblance” to Ball. 

“These comments are so ridiculous, and sad, like calm down people. I promise it’s going to be okay. No need to get so angry. Too many shallow human beings out there. I have acknowledged my entire life I do not resemble my great grandma, but rather have more of the Arnaz genes,” she added.

In another touching post, Desiree shared her feelings about Ball, who passed away five months before she was born, alongside a portrait of her and Ball in which they looked so similar. She wrote:

“Celebrating the life of a legend and MY life’s most profound curiosity. Your energy emulates, still. I would have loved to meet a part of me in you. 🤍”

One user commented: “I think you looked exactly like your great grandma. You’ve got her baby blues. I know you two are together & she welcomed you with the best embrace. 🖤”

Desiree’s mom Julia opened up to People magazine following the passing of her daughter, whom she called her “best friend” and “mini me.” 

“She was so special. All our children are special, but this little girl was something else… She was so beautiful, just so so beautiful inside and out. She really, really reminded me a lot of my grandmother, more so than I,” Julia said.

Were you aware of the tragic fate of Lucille Ball’s great-granddaughter? Do you think Desiree has inherited some of her great-grandmother’s traits? If so, let us know and be sure to pass this along to friends and family who are fans of “I Love Lucy,” too!