At the beginning of her career, Marilyn Monroe attended several of St. Cyr's burlesque shows, studying the way she moved her body, and later incorporated many of St. Cyr's moves as her own.
Ex-husband/actor Ted Jordan wrote a biography of Marilyn Monroe in which he alleges that Lili and Monroe had an affair.
Got her big break in Hollywood in 1951 when she was charged with indecent exposure during a bubble bath performance at Ciro's nightclub. By the time she beat the charge in court, the publicity had made her a headliner and led to series of low-budget movies.
Her lingerie business, "The Undie World of Lili St. Cyr," designed and offered costuming for strippers as well as housewives. Her catalogs had Lili modeling every article, with descriptions and details.
In the cult movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), there is a scene in which the character Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon) is swimming ecstatically in a pool, singing an ode to decadence. A line of her song goes: "God bless Lili St. Cyr!".
Measurements: 34-24-34 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
Moved to Pasadena, Calif., when she was 7, dropped out of school after the ninth grade and was working as a waitress at a Chinese restaurant when she got her start as a showgirl.
On trial in 1951 for "lewd and lascivious" performances, she volunteered to take a bath in the courtroom to prove her tastefulness. The judge demurred, and the jury declared her work to be "art."
Said to have had romances with Orson Welles and Victor Mature, among others.
She had six husbands.
She was 80 at the time of her death, and was survived by a sister, Rosemary Minsky of Los Angeles.