Lucille Ball

She became the first woman to run a major Hollywood studio.

After buying out her cheating husband’s shares.

By the time “I Love Lucy” premiered in 1951, Lucille Ball was 40 years old.

She started as a teenage chorus girl, worked as a model for Hattie Carnegie, and bounced from one film contract to the next, mostly in B-movie roles.

In 1940, she met Desi Arnaz while filming “Too Many Girls.”

They eloped the same year.

In 1948, Lucille landed a hit radio show on CBS called “My Favorite Husband.”

CBS wanted to turn it into a television show.

Lucille agreed, but only if Desi played her husband on-screen.

CBS claimed that audiences wouldn’t accept an interracial couple.

To prove them wrong, Lucille and Desi launched a national vaudeville tour.

The audiences loved it.

CBS agreed to give them a shot.

Lucille and Desi launched Desilu Productions to produce the show themselves.

At the time, most TV shows were broadcast live from New York, but they insisted on filming in Los Angeles.

They wanted to use 35mm film to produce a higher-quality show.

That made the production more expensive.

So they offered CBS a deal. Desilu would cover the added costs in exchange for full ownership of the episodes.

CBS agreed, not realizing the long-term value of reruns.

Lucille and Desi filmed with three cameras at once, in front of a live studio audience.

They designed sets that worked like stage plays to capture real reactions.

They made syndication possible by storing and distributing high-quality film.

And while other studios trashed old episodes, Desilu was building a content library.

“I Love Lucy” became one of the biggest television hits in history.

But behind the scenes, the marriage was deteriorating.

Desi was drinking heavily and having affairs.

So, in 1960, just one day after finishing the last episode of “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour,” Lucille filed for divorce.

Lucille bought out Desi’s shares and took full control of Desilu Productions.

She became the first woman in Hollywood to run a major studio, as president and CEO.

She notably greenlit “The Untouchables,” “Mission: Impossible,” and “Star Trek.”

All other studios had rejected those shows.

She acted in over 70 films throughout her career.

Off-screen, she mentored younger women in the industry, including Carol Burnett.

In 1967, she sold Desilu to Gulf+Western for $17M (over $160M today).

Desilu was merged into Paramount Television and became one of the most powerful studios in the world.

Over her lifetime, Lucille received five Primetime Emmy Awards and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One for television and one for film.