Acknowledged as the most technically accomplished ballerina ever
produced in America.
Credits St. Exupery with her favorite quote: "If anything at all,
perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to
add but when there is no longer anything to take away".
Starred with the New York City Ballet for 18 years.
Her father was an Osage Indian and her mother was of Scottish-Irish heritage.
Prima ballerina.
She was an American ballerina.
She was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1999 by the
National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.
Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1996.
Founded the Chicago City Ballet in 1981 and served as its artistic
director (1981-1987).
She had her first ballet lessons in Colorado Springs. She also studied piano and ballet with local teachers in Oklahoma. She briefly considered becoming a concert pianist.
Her sister, Marjorie Tallchief, also became a ballerina, spending most of her career in Europe.