Born Annie Blanche Banks in 1928 in Georgia, Tempest Storm escaped poverty and abuse by running away at fourteen. After two short marriages, she moved to Hollywood to chase her dreams. When asked to choose between stage names “Sunny Day” or “Tempest Storm,” she picked lightning over sunshine.

While working as a cocktail waitress, a customer asked if she did striptease. She tried—and found her gift. By the late 1940s, she was performing; by the mid-1950s, she was headlining shows. Known for her “elegant and hypnotic” style, she teased with grace, not shock. Lloyd’s of London insured her curves for $1 million, and she became the “Tempest in a D-Cup.” She starred in Teaserama and Buxom Beautease alongside Bettie Page.

Despite her daring image, she lived simply—“no smoking, no alcohol stronger than 7-Up.” She refused plastic surgery and stayed proud of her natural beauty.

Her love life drew attention, from Elvis Presley to Mickey Rooney, but her 1959 marriage to jazz singer Herb Jeffries made history as an interracial union.

Tempest Storm performed into her eighties, honored with “Tempest Storm Day” in San Francisco. When she died in 2021 at ninety-three, she left behind “a legacy of power, passion, and unapologetic confidence.”