Despite her passing three decades ago, many people still remember and adore Lucille Ball.

She rose to prominence as the top comedy actress of the 1950s with the TV show I Love Lucy, which she co-starred in with her husband, Desi Arnaz.

Before becoming famous on television, she worked as a model and film actress, appearing in over 70 films at the end of her career.

Lucille Ball’s legacy lives on in a variety of ways, with her great-granddaughter bearing a remarkable likeness to her renowned great-grandmother.

I Love Lucy propelled Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz to prominence, and the program made several historical contributions. One of the first sitcoms to be recorded live paved the way for numerous other successful shows.

Lucille Ball has two children from her two marriages. In 1940, she married Desi Arnaz, with whom she co-starred in I Love Lucy. The couple has two children: Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr.

Desi Arnaz Jr.’s birth was one of the most widely covered in television history, yet being the son of two celebrities was not easy. He has acknowledged partying excessively while growing up in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s.

He grew up as the son of two hugely successful television performers, surrounded by temptation and pressure. In reality, he became a parent at the tender age of fifteen.

Though he did not have a relationship with his daughter Julia until almost 20 years later, Arnaz Jr. made an effort to be there for his granddaughter, Desiree Anzalone, to compensate for his past absence.

Arnaz Jr. rose to prominence after his mother, actress Lucille Ball, gave birth to him on the same night as her titular I Love Lucy character in a pre-recorded episode.

It was a watershed event since CBS had previously insisted on not showing pregnant women on air.

Surrounded by the Hollywood elite, the infant grew into a teenager, eventually becoming a teen idol himself on his parents’ second project, Here’s Lucy.

Around this time, he met model Susan Callahan-Howe, who would later become the mother of his daughter. Desi Jr. and Susan met when they were just 15 years old. However, Desi Jr. and his daughter Julia separated for several years before reuniting in the 1990s.

Unfortunately, Julia never met her renowned grandmother because Lucille died before she did.

Callahan, who tragically died of COVID-19 in 2020, spent years informing her kid that her father was renowned. Julia decided to verify it years later, using a paternity test in 1991.

“We did a DNA test when I was 20, and it came back 99.97% that I was indeed his daughter, and then shortly after that my father and I started a beautiful relationship,” Julia told Page Six. She further explained:

“I’ll be at least 18 years old by then.” He could have said, ‘Yeah, she’s my baby, whatever. But he did not. He was helpful to me throughout my life, as well as to my daughter during her college years.

That daughter was Desiree Anzalone, and Julia revealed that her father had also become close with her. She went on to say that they spent a lot of time together, and Desiree even lived with Arnaz Jr. for a while.

Julia also called her daughter Lucille, after her Emmy Award-winning grandmother; Desiree was the actress’ second name.

Desiree worked as a photographer and earned a degree in creative writing from the University of North Texas.

According to reports, the young woman received a stage 2 breast cancer diagnosis at the age of 25.

Anzalone had a double mastectomy and momentarily went into remission, but her cancer reappeared, spreading to her lungs, liver, and bones.

Unfortunately, Desiree’s life ended brutally in 2020.

Julia Arnaz had to deal with her mother dying of COVID-19 while her daughter battled stage 4 breast cancer during the 2020 pandemic.

Julia told People magazine, “I wasn’t able to see her as much as I usually do because COVID-19 kept us apart, and I didn’t want her getting sick in any way.” “So, I haven’t been able to spend as much time with her as I usually do due to COVID since March. I saw her, but not as frequently; we’d hang out every day that she was here. Also, she lived with me for a while.”

Julia Arnaz told Page Six in May 2021 that her commitment to activism was to help other young women stop the cancer that killed her daughter from spreading so quickly.

She is committed to expanding the availability of mammograms in Connecticut, her home state. Arnaz intends to encourage younger women to start mammograms earlier rather than later, despite the usual advice for elderly women to undergo them as regular checks.

“Those four or five months, it’s a huge difference,” she added. “And this lovely angel, my daughter…” Many young ladies may remark, ‘Ah, it’s only a cyst.’ But she pushed for herself, and I encourage other young ladies to do the same.

Since her daughter’s untimely death, Julia Arnaz has continued to speak out about this topic in the media and raise awareness.

“It’s just not discussed that much. Julia Arnaz told People that it generally happens to people in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s, not at this age. ” So that was what she truly wanted: to assist other women like herself. “A preventative.”