Overview

• Ball had planned to name her firstborn Susan in honor of actress Susan Peters before suffering multiple miscarriages
• Lucie Arnaz arrived via cesarean section on July 17, 1951, after Ball endured fertility struggles and corrective surgery
• while Ball was recovering from anesthesia, Arnaz filed the birth certificate under Lucie Desiree without consulting her
• the chosen name paid tribute to both Lucille Ball and her mother, surprising Ball when she first met her daughter
• Purdum’s book has reignited interest in the couple’s groundbreaking television legacy and their children’s entertainment careers