Biography
Eldest child of Frank Sinatra who enjoyed a decade of fame beginning in the early 1960s, in which her combination of toughness and kittenish sexiness prefigured such later pop singers as Linda Ronstadt, Pat Benatar and Madonna. Although one of her biggest hits was a sweet, playful duet with her father ("Somethin' Stupid"), Sinatra's best-known single remains her first big hit, the acoustic bass-driven, quasi-feminist "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'." Compensating for her modest vocal range with a smooth, dusky alto and a good-humored, insinuating delivery, she hit the top 40 ten times from 1965 to 1968, including three duets with singer Lee Hazlewood, who wrote and produced most of Sinatra's material and added a country seasoning to her basically pop sound. Sinatra also starred in three TV variety specials and acted in such films as "The Wild Angels" (1966) and the Elvis Presley vehicle "Speedway" (1968), where her persona was that of the deadpan, miniskirted tough cookie. She also continued performing live before her career petered out in the mid-70s. She made very occasional TV and concert appearances in the years that followed, and in the mid-90s enjoyed a modest career renaissance.
